


Second Chances

by Sleepy_fan



Category: Assassin's Creed - All Media Types
Genre: Father/Son Incest, M/M, Modern AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-10
Updated: 2017-12-21
Packaged: 2019-02-12 21:23:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 51,996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12968691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sleepy_fan/pseuds/Sleepy_fan
Summary: At a protest rally, roommates Connor, Ezio and Desmond are wrongfully arrested. When they’re taken to a nearby police station and processed, Connor’s Police captain father is informed that the young man’s been arrested. Will the estranged pair be able to reconnect?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Antecanis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Antecanis/gifts).



Connor was glaring at the back of the head of the officer who had arrested himself, Ezio and Desmond. The three of them were handcuffed together in the back of the squad car that the officer was currently driving. They had been wrongfully arrested, but there hadn't been much that the three of them could do that wouldn't be seen as resisting arrest. They'd been arrested for bullshit reasons and Connor was quite sure that they would be let go after a few hours - maybe overnight if they were unlucky.

Desmond shifted uncertainly next to him and asked anxiously "What are we going to do? We... We get a phone call, or something right? My dad is going to murder me..."

"Relax, Desmond. We haven't done anything wrong. We tell them the truth about what we were doing - show them the protest wristbands and hand stamps and they should let us go." Connor responded, still irritated at how they'd been arrested. Everyone who had been attending the protest rally had been forewarned by event organizers that some of them might get arrested - even though it was a legal, peaceful rally. The police might get nervous about their numbers and try to subdue them - or criminals might take the distraction that the rally provided to cause harm or to try to get away with doing something awful. But, so long as everyone at the rally stayed peaceful and stuck to the area that the organizers had arranged for them to protest at, the police had no grounds to imprison on or charge criminal allegations at.

Apparently, several stores in the surrounding area had been broken into and things stolen from them. Allegedly, from what this officer and his partner had claimed. While Connor wasn't sure as to whether or not that was true... The three of them had been arrested, and they had been with the rest of the rally - on the outer edge, yes but still obviously with the protest group.

Desmond nodded shakily - his father was incredibly strict (bordering nearly on abusive, actually) and the other's father did live in the city. The three of them were roommates and lived in a small apartment in another part of New York City - and since it was such a large city, they hadn't yet run into Desmond's father. "You're right... It's just... I've never been in a police car before - or handcuffed."

"Ah. I have - but that was when I was a teenager, back in Monteriggioni and Firenze." Ezio responded, a small smile appearing on his face "Many fun times were had then. Not that I don't have fun now, with the two of you. Just not that sort of fun.... That... That came out wrong." The Italian frowned, trying to figure out how to phrase what he had just said a bit better - English was irritating at times.

"I know what you meant, Ezio." Connor and Desmond responded at the same time. Connor frowned a little as he noted that several police wagons were headed in the direction of the rally. It seemed as though more of their fellow protesters might end up at whatever stations that the vans were from, unfortunately. New York City held a lot of opportunities, but Connor wondered if he should move after he finished the five year contract that he had with the small veterinary clinic and hospital that he was currently working at. They had helped him pay for his student tuition in exchange for the contract and while he liked working with them well enough and the pay was good - rent was expensive, even with two roommates and in order to come here, Connor had to leave behind his whole family - they were several states away and the young man missed them keenly. He was also unsure as to whether or not he liked living in such a large city. Apparently he had lived here when he had been very young... Before his mother had died, but Connor didn't remember much beyond the fire. This city was so big and so crowded it was nothing at all like the small town that he'd grown up in - there was traffic at all times of the day and night it felt like and the constant crush of people was far from a positive, in the young man's eyes. "It's fun living with you too."

"Grazie, Connor, Desmond." The Italian responded with a small smile. Ezio shared with them the key to staying out of a more permanent jail cell "See, along with telling them the truth of what we were up to, we have to be confident in our answers - they will doubt you if you're worried about something, as they think that you're guilty and trying to lie your way out of it... But being too confident irritates them as well as you're supposed to be intimidated when handcuffed and dragged to a police station."

"They didn't read us our Miranda rights." Connor murmured quietly, frowning a little. It could be that the officers didn't feel comfortable doing so in front of the large group of protesters, but it felt suspicious to the young man - especially since the officers had started the car, they had been completely silent. He remembered something that his father had told him, and found that it was actually coming in handy "If they ask questions that don't pertain to where we were during the alleged burglaries, just say "I'm exercising my Miranda Rights." and stay silent - also we're supposed to have a lawyer present - if there isn't one present, just say that and we'll stay quiet... No matter what they threaten, or try to convince you that if you're innocent, you should just speak up, they're not supposed to do that. They can't use your own silence against you."

Ezio and Desmond both nodded, with the former saying "I texted my father's American attorney - they're based here in the city. She should be at the precinct that we're headed to shortly after we are, though she may be delayed somewhat longer than that due to traffic." Desmond and Connor nodded, and the three of them silently waited the rest of the ride to the precinct in silence, watching the scenery go by.

~

The three of them had been taken straight to the temporary holding part of the precinct - all three of them were together, with over a dozen other people. Most of whom the three of them vaguely recognized - they too had protest wrist bands and hand stamps. There were also several people who were quite obviously drunk, slumped against the wall of the room they were in and sitting on the hard bench that they had to sit on, hiccupping a little. There was also one person leaning against the far corner, their hands folded over their chest as they watched everything that was going on.

Most of the protesters were about their age - but a couple of them were older and everyone was a little nervous. Connor asked before someone could get too upset "Has anyone been told to give their statement to the police yet? Were you read your Miranda Rights when they arrested you?"

All of them shook their heads, and one of them spoke up after a moment "They showed up in a wagon and just started grabbing people - whoever they could get their hands on. They didn't say a single word to any of us when we were driven here - though they did confiscate our cell phones and wallets as they pulled each of us out of the wagon - and handcuffed each of us so that we wouldn't cause trouble - or so the officers said."

Another spoke up, and she said, looking anxious "I... I don't do well in enclosed spaces - and I hate being confined like this! Why are they doing this?! I'm pretty sure it's illegal to treat us this way..."

Connor took a step closer to the anxious looking woman, lightly resting a hand on her shoulder - Prudence was a neighbor of theirs and someone whom the young man considered a friend - and as she didn't pull away from the touch, Connor didn't remove his hand - to help her steady herself "I'm nervous too. But we need to try to stay as calm as possible - they can't hold us like this indefinitely - and they have to at least tell us what we're being charged with - and by the law, we are allowed a phone call and a lawyer. Don't answer their questions if you don't have a lawyer present - you're not guilty of anything, despite what they might say otherwise. There are... There are some cops who might pressure you into confessing something that you didn't do, to avoid the hassle of actually trying to find the culprit - or because they're covering for whoever it really is."

Everyone else in their group nodded, trying to calm down as best as each of them could. Warren - Prudence's husband spoke up after a moment "How do you know all of this? did you research it before you went to the protest rally, in case  you got arrested, or what?" It was a bit surprising the depth of knowledge that the young vet displayed at knowing how this sort of thing worked. Connor didn't strike them as the sort of person who had gotten into trouble when he was younger.

Everyone was watching him curiously and the young man fidgeted, feeling a little bit uncomfortable at having to tell them that he knew this because his father - a man who Connor almost exclusively interacted with via phone and email throughout his childhood... Was a cop, and had warned and talked about such things with him. Haytham had visited occasionally, before his mother had died - he had fuzzy memories of a blue eyed man with a kind smile and a warm hug. "I like to be thorough, when starting something, in order to be safe." He not quite lied - as he had helped the organizers make sure that their protest rally was completely legal and above board. The last thing that they needed was to be vilified by Chief Birch for being an ill-mannered bunch of riotous rabble-rousers or something like that, when the other tried to explain why he was arresting a group of citizens who were exercising their rights to protest.

The others nodded and Connor was glad that they had brought it. Ezio and Desmond both quirked an eyebrow at him. They were aware that his father was a cop as it had come up in conversation once or twice, but neither of them made a comment, about it, and Connor was grateful for it. The last thing he needed to be accused of, was that he was only there to help out the police try to catch as many of them as possible in a questionably legal raid on a peaceful, lawful protest rally or something ridiculous like that. After a moment, Desmond mused out loud "I wonder how long they're going to try to hold us in here for, before they start processing us."

Everyone shrugged - no one had any idea. Connor offered after a little bit "Perhaps they're waiting to catch as many of us as they can, then will interrogate us on what we were doing one by one? It seems a bit odd, if they're doing that... As if we were up to anything, we would have time to come up with a cohesive story to tell the police... But then again, these rooms are monitored by several cameras and they might be able to tell if we did do something like that."

This was met with grumbles of irritation from his fellow protesters. Before they could talk or try to come up with something to do to distract themselves from their current predicament, a policeman came into the room, holding a piece of paper and squinting at it, obviously trying to figure something out. He cleared his throat and asked "Would... Ra... Raton... How the hell am I supposed to say that name? Ratonha... Something please step forwards? Your father is here to speak with you, come with me."  
Connor sighed and stepped forwards "Call me Connor - most people do." he followed the other to an interrogation room, mildly surprised that they'd pulled his father from wherever he was working at to come talk to him... And slightly nervous as well.

~

Connor silently stared around at the interrogation room that he'd been brought to - it was a bit odd that they would bring him here in order to speak with his father - but perhaps that had been a lie that the officer had been told to say, while he was brought to this place and asked what he was doing today. He would refuse to speak unless there was a lawyer present - it was his right and though he wasn't guilty of anything, all of this felt... Suspicious to say the least. Then again, it wasn't like he was actually in a jail, where they would have a visiting room where he could speak through a glass wall to his family member. There was a wall mirror on one side of the room, and the young man was quite sure that it was a one-way window.

He had read on the internet that there was a way to tell whether or not a mirror was a true mirror, or if it could be a two-way mirror. But Connor had been asked to stay put, and so the young man sat in the chair. His hands were still handcuffed together in front of him, and the veterinarian was debating on whether or not he could remember how his father had taught him how to pick a lock or if he would get into trouble for doing that, when a distinguished looking police officer walked into the room.

He had light blue-grey eyes and short, silver hair. The other was in uniform - and from the way it looked, Connor was fairly sure that he was looking at the captain of the precinct... How he rated being talked to by the captain himself, the young man did not know and briefly wondered if he should be nervous about. The Police captain was very handsome - and it was clear that the other worked out regularly - but there was a grace and poise to the other's movements that was very... Attractive. Connor glanced away from the other for a moment as he struggled not to start blushing. Then the police captain spoke and he fought the urge to blush for another reason - out of embarrassment as he recognized the other's voice "Connor, what are you doing here? They told me that you were in the drunk tank when they ran your ID and they found out that you are family of a police officer."

"Desmond, Ezio and I went to the protest rally today. We went there in the morning and stayed all day until a couple of police officers came and arrested us. We didn't leave the rally for food as we brought our own and shared some of it with several of the others. We weren't read our Miranda rights when we were arrested and haven't been allowed our phone call... None of us have been asked to give statements or tell them our alibis for whatever it is we've been accused of." Connor responded, explaining everything that happened in a rush.

Haytham frowned a little and shook his head "Do you know who it was who arrested you? They said that the three of you have been suspected of petty theft - but that they've been too busy processing the people they caught from a riot to get to you as of yet."

"Riot?! Is that what they're calling the rally? When we were arrested, everyone was calm and peaceful - and I don't think that a riot would have broken out... It would go against the spirit in which the rally was intended." Connor sputtered in shock, eyes widening a little, before narrowing in irritation.

Haytham sighed a little and shook his head "I will speak with the arresting officers - they are... Fairly inexperienced  and I know that Chief Birch has been... Concerned and sharing those concerns with the Native Rights Rally that was going to be taking place today. There were supposed to be a couple of officers on duty in that area - to ensure the safety of the protesters - but I was told that they've been dealing with a rash of emergency phone calls as they were the closest unit who could respond. Considering what has been allegedly stolen, it would be very obvious if the three of you had taken anything... Did you come to the rally by car, any chance?"

"Prudence and Warren drove us here in their catering van. None of us have a car of our own - it's too expensive and difficult to deal with... Besides, all of us work within ten blocks of where we live, so it's much faster to walk or bike to where we're working." Connor responded honestly "Though Prudence drove it back and came by bus later, to avoid having to pay hand over fist for parking time."

Haytham hummed a little before nodding "Very well." He hesitated, looking the younger man up and down for a moment, before saying in a softer and gentler tone "It is good to see you again. I've seen you in pictures that your aunt sends me but... You really have grown so much."

Connor felt his face warm and he fidgeted with his hands, eventually responding with "Thank you? You made captain... I know that you were looking to further your career, congratulations."

His father actually smiled - and looked slightly less intimidating (but also... Still incredibly handsome) and responded with "Thank you - how long have you been living in New York? I did make it to your graduation. I wasn't surprised to find that you were class valedictorian. Or the... Medical equivalent, as best as I understood it."

"T-thanks! I did see you in the crowd I was ambushed before I could go over to talk to you by my friends to a very... A really fun party." Connor didn't want to say wild as he was still in a police interrogation room and he was fairly sure his father didn't want to hear about that. "I've been living here for... Almost a month now? I just finished unpacking everything and arguing with the cell phone company to let me keep my number, despite having moved halfway across the country."  
Haytham chuckled a little "I remember that moving was always rather a large ordeal. I will get to the bottom of this, and as much as I would like to continue speaking with you..."

"You have police captain-y stuff to do. Like figure out why a bunch of peaceful, law-abiding protesters were arrested for no reason." Connor responded, nodding a little.  
Haytham stood up and gestured for him to do so as well, moving closer and unlocking the handcuffs "I will take you to my office, and I'd like you to wait there, until I can get this mess with you and your friends sorted out. There must be some sort of mix up and I will be getting to the bottom of this."

Connor nodded silently, not trusting himself to speak - the stern and determined expression on Haytham's face was... He was intimidated. Clearly... Right? The young man mentally shook himself as he followed his father to the other's office. He was rather tired - more than he realized, if his thoughts were wandering in such strange ways. When they arrived at the other’s office, Connor murmured “I’d like to catch up with you more.”

His father smiled at that and responded with “I would be delighted to catch up with you as well – would you like to come visit me in my home on Saturday?” Connor nodded happy in agreement and they made plans to meet in the morning, on the upcoming Saturday.


	2. Chapter 2

It had taken his father about an hour to get to the reason why all of the protesters had been arrested - the officers had been informed that they were protesting illegally (by someone) and that they needed to be arrested before the protest turned into a riot. Several of the protesters had fled and in a couple of other precincts, there had been reports that some of them had resisted arrest. But the group of them who were in his father's precinct had peacefully submitted to their arresting officers, and as there were no outstanding warrants for any of them, they were let go - they didn't even need to pay bail to get out.

After the excitement on Saturday, the three of them had agreed that they would stay in the apartment on Sunday and not do much. That lasted until the three of them agreed on what they were going to have for food for next week and what they needed to get. They could have gotten their groceries delivered to them, but that would have been substantially more expensive, so the three of them had gone to the closest grocery store - each of them buying a third of the list and they headed back to their apartment, preparing what they needed to for tomorrow's breakfast and lunch.

Each of them were a little bit nervous - while it was unlikely that their workplaces would have found out that they'd been arrested - it could get rather tricky as most employers frowned on that sort of thing - even if they had been wrongfully arrested. Or rather, Desmond and Connor were worried. Ezio worked for Warren and Prudence as one of their top pastry chefs and their main salesperson, so he was sure that his job was still completely safe. Desmond worked at a local mechanic's shop - he was a motorcycle mechanic, specifically, and he was very good at it.

Connor made his way over to the vet clinic and hospital, making sure that his uniform was neat and correct just before he stepped into the staff entrance, his key card allowing him through without a problem. He was fifteen minutes early to his shift, as usual and waved at the front office people on his way through. The young vet stopped by the staff lounge, dropping off his lunch for the day in the staff fridge before making his way down the row of offices to his own, unlocking the door carefully and stepping inside. Connor had logged into everything and was looking at his schedule for today - it seemed as though the weekend staff had filled up his schedule completely for the week. He was so closely booked with appointments he'd barely be able to breathe without having another task to do.

Trying to stay on top of paperwork would be a nightmare and... He spotted that he was going to be doing a consult on more than two surgeries... Which was odd, as he hadn't yet done a surgery in this clinic - he'd done several during his practical coursework (at this very hospital and clinic, actually) but hadn't been assigned to anything like this since they'd hired him as one of their vets. Connor grinned a little, feeling flattered - it meant that Dr. Cormac had enough faith in his abilities to be one of the surgical veterinarians on staff. It was immensely flattering and the young man was determined to win the trust of the pet parents who were requesting the surgical events. It was probably for either spaying or neutering the patients, but it was still a rather large step forwards, and the young vet was determined to do the very best that he could.

It was a little odd that his first appointment today was at eleven - considering that it was almost eight in the morning and they opened their doors right at eight - which was an hour before most people had to start work, and they did that deliberately to make sure that pet parents were able to at least drop off their animals before they had to go to work, without having to take time off. Connor was fairly sure that he had been scheduled to see a patient at ten - but perhaps he had been thinking of last week? Or it had been cancelled. He shook himself mentally and let his nerves settle down as he caught up on the last of the paperwork that he'd been unable to catch up on last week.

Someone knocked on his door and when he said "Come in." The newest member of the front office staff - Shao Jun, Connor was fairly sure her name was? Popped in, looking slightly worried.

She cleared her throat a little and said "Dr. Cormac wants to talk to you in his office. He mentioned wanting to talk about something that happened over the weekend?"  
Connor nodded, getting up and heading for the door, wondering why she looked rather nervous "Alright, thanks for telling me."

As he passed by her, she awkwardly patted him on one shoulder, whispering "Good luck." He realized that she had a faded handstamp on one of her hands - the same that he had. "I was able to get away before they grabbed me. I saw you when they were... Shortly after the rally ended, but I wasn't able to say hi. If you need someone to back you up in regards to what happened at the rally, I'll tell him."

Connor nodded, feeling his mouth go dry as his anxiety skyrocketed. He stood behind what he'd done over the weekend, and they'd been warned that if they were arrested at the rally, it might have several consequences in their social and professional lives, but Connor would not apologize for doing the right thing. It seemed to take far too long and not enough time to make it to Dr. Cormac's door.

~

The talk that he had with Dr. Cormac had been much better than the young man had feared it would be. A small smile appeared on his face as he remembered some of the praise that his boss had given him. According to Dr. Cormac he was one of the most patient with the more... Anxious pet parents who brought in their animals when they thought that said beloved pet was  acting the least bit odd, terrified that their precious animal was coming down with some terrible disease. Dr. Cormac ended their meeting with "Keep up the hard work, Connor. You are a brilliant young vet and we are looking forwards to quite a bit more from you."

Connor had made sure to thank the other and couldn't help but grin as he continued to work for the rest of the day. His work week had gone by in a rush of utter business - though the young vet was able to keep up on his paperwork - if only just. At home he was usually the last one home and Desmond - who usually got home first - had been congratulated on being dragged into the precinct - apparently his fellow mechanics saw it as a rite of passage to get into a bit of trouble with the law - especially since their newest mechanic hadn't gotten in trouble regarding theft or vehicular issues, he wasn't in trouble either.

It was Friday evening, and Connor hadn't realized that he hadn't told his roommates and friends that he had plans for the weekend - as Desmond had just asked "You know that game store on twelfth and Mann? They're hosting a weekend long board game tournament. I was kind of thinking about going - what do you two think?"

Ezio grinned at the thought "I saw a poster advertising that. I know that I'm going - Sofia loves games and I'm going with her - you're welcome to join our team, both of you."

Connor shook his head ruefully "That sounds like a lot of fun - but I promised my dad that I'd visit on Saturday. I might go Sunday, if they allow something like that at the tournament."

Desmond and Ezio both blinked at him before the latter asked "I thought that you didn't have much contact with your dad? At least not in person?"

"Apparently he lives in New York City - and part of that was that I lived in a tiny town in the middle of Colorado since... After my mom died, since most of my family lives there." Connor responded, fidgeting with his hands a little.

Desmond responded "You said that your dad was a cop... Hey did he help us get out of that jail cell, last Sunday?"

"Err..." Went Connor "We weren't guilty of everything - but yeah, dad's a cop. He's actually the captain of the precinct that we went to."

"Wow! That's fortunate... Not that we were doing anything illegal - but it's nice that we were finally processed and your dad was able to get his people's heads out of their asses and let all of us go." Desmond responded, smiling a little and nodding.

"Si! I agree with Desmond - rather fortunate. I remember Lydia coming into the precinct like an Avenging Angel - only she was a little flustered to realize that we were already being let go." Ezio responded, grinning a little at his friend "Have a fun weekend with your dad, I hope it goes well." He came from a very closely-knit family and really looked up to his father. He couldn't imagine what it was like for Connor to just barely be able to start to get to know his own, but wished the other all the best. "Did you have much contact with him at all, when you were younger?"

"Well... Before... Before Ziio died, all three of us lived in NYC - though I think mom and I lived elsewhere from dad - which is one of the reasons why after... After she died I ended up at her sister's place in Nowhere, Colorado but I don't remember that very well. After I moved, dad always made sure to send Christmas and birthday presents and he'd be sure to call at least once a month - though if I was lucky he'd be able to call once a week... And we'd email each other fairly regularly too." Connor answered quietly. He was both anxious and excited at the opportunity to get to know his father better, and hoped that it would go well.

Ezio and Desmond nodded silently, glad that Connor was opening up a little about his past. While their friend didn't intend to be mysterious - most of their former shared college classmates had been curious and a touch frustrated about their mysterious and aloof Native American classmate... Connor wasn't aloof in the slightest - or haughty, as the young man had been accused of being behind his back. Ezio was well aware that his friend was quite shy and socially awkward, though he was doing much better now than when they'd first been matched up as Freshman year dorm roommates. "Good luck and have fun with your dad, alright? He's probably looking forwards to this as much as you are."

Desmond nodded in agreement and after a moment remarked "If you ever want to talk to us, you know that you can - about whatever it is that you'd like to talk about. Thanks for confiding in us." Desmond hoped that Connor would be able to develop a good relationship with his father... His own was a hard-ass and wanted him to become a doctor or a lawyer. Desmond had done his best to appease his father, starting to go through the medical track but... While he did understand most of it, his heart hadn't been in medicine. He'd taken a couple of general studies and found that he loved fixing mechanical things. The three of them settled down and ate dinner while watching TV together.

~

Connor woke up early on Saturday morning - and he was well aware that he wouldn't be able to fall asleep again - despite the fact that he was up before six in the morning on a lovely Saturday. A soft sigh left his lips as he got up at seven - having stayed in his bed and messed around on his phone for an hour, in the vain hope that he would go to sleep. A soft sigh left his lips as he tried to suppress some of the excited anxiety that was running through him - he was very much looking forwards to talking to Haytham for a while today - but he also knew that he should call the other before coming over, in case his father had made plans in the interim, or had decided that he didn't want much contact with him beyond what had previously been established in the first place, despite the fact that they lived in the same city again.

The young man made his way over to the kitchen, and made breakfast for all three of them. Connor hummed softly as he was careful not to be too noisy as he finished the omelets that they'd agreed on eating, wrapping up Ezio's and Desmond's and leaving a note on the whiteboard that they had on their fridge, telling them that he'd made breakfast already. He ate quickly and washed up, before playing around on his laptop until ten - as he figured that his father might sleep in a little on the weekends - and even if the other didn't, Haytham might have an early morning routine that he'd rather not have disturbed. Connor closed his eyes for a moment as he allowed himself to calm down a little - as his nerves were starting to bother him quite a bit again and he called his father, waiting for the other to answer.

Haytham answered on the third ring with "Good morning, Connor. How are you doing?"

"I'm doing well, thanks. How are you?" Connor responded, trying to figure out whether or not he should be blunt, or continue to participate in small talk. Before his brain could stop his mouth, he added "We made plans for me to come over to your house today - and I wanted to make sure that you still wanted me to come over."  There was a hopeful note in his voice as he patiently waited for the other's response.

"I would be delighted if you came over today, as we planned. Do you want me to pick you up? I know that I live across town... Do you have a car?" His father asked curiously.

"I don't have a car - I do have a license, but it's too expensive for me to have a car here... I'd be grateful if you came and picked me up - have you heard of Stefan's Kitchen? We could meet there - unless you want to come to the apartment complex I live in?" He was content to try to meet the other part way, rather than asking the other to drive all the way over here.

"I have - it's a French cuisine based restaurant, isn't it? On the corner of Seventh and Sandy, I believe. That would work well, though I wouldn't mind picking you up at the apartment, if you'd rather do that." Haytham responded, sounding both amused and happy.

"Yep! That's the place I'm talking to you about." Connor tried to figure out whether or not to ask if the other had anything else he wanted to talk about on the phone, or if they should get going and was worried as to whether or not the other would think he was being too impatient as he was happy to talk to his father on the phone as well but-

"Connor, is there something that you'd like to ask me about? You've been quiet for several minutes." Haytham's voice was gentle and coaxing "I would be happy to talk to you as we both get going to the restaurant, if you'd like to. Or, as the area that you live in is... It's a rather densely traveled section of the city, I wouldn't mind ending the call here, and talking to you after we meet up again."

"I... Thanks. The latter sounds like a good idea. I'm looking forwards to seeing you soon!" Connor responded, letting out a silent sigh of relief, shaking his head a little and feeling completely ridiculous. Why was he so nervous about meeting his father? Then again... They haven't seen one another in person in quite a long time. He could do this. There was no reason to be nervous and today was going to go spectacularly well. They hung up at roughly the same time and the young man carefully made his way to Stefan's place. As it was rather far by foot, it took him almost an hour to get there. He ordered a drink and a light snack, as he'd just eaten breakfast.

He hummed softly and watched the cars go past through one of the windows, trying to remember if Haytham had told him what sort of car he drove when he wasn't on duty or not.  
There were quite a few people in the restaurant - there was a special on some of the breakfasts, and service was quite busy.  
A familiar voice called out from behind him, asking "Is there something that you are looking for in particular?"

Connor looked over and smiled a little sheepishly at his father, responding with an honest "Yes. I was trying to guess what sort of car you drive, actually."

Haytham hummed a little and smiled, responding with "I would be happy to show you the car that I have been driving for the past couple of years. Would you like to get something here?"

Connor shook his head "I ate elsewhere - I had some tea while waiting for you. Do you want something to eat? The food here is excellent."  
His father hummed a little before responding with "I'll take a couple of their croissants and we can go." Connor nodded and after paying for their purchases the pair of them left.


	3. Chapter 3

The drive over to his father's place was quiet - and Connor realized that it wasn't as far away from where he lived as he had thought it was - if he took the subway stop right where he worked and took the red line train up two stops, he'd be able to get to his father's place in less than half an hour. Traffic was heavy and awful as usual... But the young man was fairly sure that if they wanted to be able to spend more time with one another, his father didn't always have to come pick him up from wherever they'd decided to meet at, which might get irritating after a while.

Haytham lived in a small house, in an upper scale district. There was an apartment building, but it looked much fancier than the apartment building that Connor lived in. His father had a small yard where the other was growing fresh vegetables and had a couple of small fruit trees. Connor followed the other into the other's home and they were immediately mobbed by a big, brown-black cat, who was yowling at the top of his lungs. The cat moved immediately to Haytham, walking between the other's legs and purring loudly before coming over and sniffing curiously at him before meowing demandingly again.

Haytham chuckled softly and reached down, lightly petting his cat behind the other's ears "This is my cat, Drake. He's a Maine Coon and likes his routines. He was scolding me for leaving the house at a different time today than I normally do."

A small smile appeared on Connor's face as he bent down and allowed the feline to inspect his fingers, responding with "He's gorgeous. How long have you had him?"

"Three years - I got him when he was a kitten. One of my officers found his mother at a crime scene and she followed him to his car and jumped in. He didn't have the heart to try to get her to leave and she was technically evidence. Three days later she gave birth to four perfectly healthy - and noisy kittens. I... I let her and the kittens stay at the precinct, and they were rather a lot like mascots." Haytham explained, a small and fond smile appearing on his face as the two of them walked to the other's living room, so that they could sit down and continued his explanation "Unfortunately, the mother had been... Had been affected by the same thing that had killed her owner, the victim. The victim's family didn't want anything to do with her or the kittens and she died, shortly after the kittens were old enough to be fully weaned. I arranged to make sure that the kittens were fully healthy - and they were, thankfully... Certain high ranking police officers felt that it was inappropriate to have kittens in the precinct, so I decided to take at least one of them home... His sisters had picked their favorite people - and Drake seemed to prefer me... So each of us took them home."

Connor was smiling quietly at the other's explanation as to how he'd gotten a cat. He wished the other had told him about it at the time... And with a slight frown of concentration, he did vaguely remember that his father had mentioned getting a cat three years ago - but he had been in the middle of an incredibly busy year of studying to become a veterinarian, and anything that wasn't studying for or preparing for the next stage in his education had gone to the wayside as he had been hit with a full class-load of courses that were designed to weed out people who weren't fully committed to becoming a vet. "I vaguely remember you talking about getting a cat a couple of years ago but... I was trapped in the land of academia and also almost completely missed the fact that one of my oldest and closest friends had gotten engaged... Kanen dragged me to meet his partner and they... We had a bit of a fight as they were a bit jealous as to how close Kanen and I were - accused the two of us of dating behind their back which would be..." Connor made a face. Kanen was his slightly exasperating younger brother in all but blood. "Weird." There was more to the story, but the young man was unsure as to whether or not Haytham would be interested in it, or bored by the story.

A soft chuckle left Haytham's lips and he lightly patted Connor on one shoulder. It felt nice, and the warmth from the other's hand lingered several moments after his father stopped touching him "I remember talking to your aunt about how focused you were on your studies... I was honored to find out that our monthly phone calls were one thing that you were careful to schedule to make sure you were able to participate in."

Connor scuffed one of his feet a little before answering honestly "Talking to you was one of the few things that kept me grounded that year, actually. I looked forwards to each of them, and talking to you about things that didn't just include my studies or what project I was working on and with whom was... It was helpful beyond words, actually. Then again, you've always helped to keep me grounded, actually." Oh, he hadn't meant to admit that, but it was true.

"Oh? I'd like to know what you mean by that, if you wouldn't be embarrassed by telling me." Haytham asked, looking surprised and touched by his words.

Connor's heart fluttered strangely in his chest and he nodded "Well... I... When I was a teenager I had some... Anger issues and one of the things that helped me keep my temper was thinking about what you'd do in a given situation... It helped me take a step back and think rather than running headlong into a situation and getting myself into trouble.. Err... Most of the time, anyways."

A surprised expression appeared on Haytham's face and the other reached out and lightly squeezed one of his shoulders again, and he responded with "I... It's flattering to know that I was able to help you with such things. I had a bit of a temper when I was younger - I still do, as a matter of fact, and learning how to control it was the bane of my teenage existence. I do remember giving you a few pointers, and I'm glad that they were helpful to you."

Connor smiled at that and the two of them started to talk about other things - about how work had gone for each of them - apparently Haytham had been buried under a lot of paperwork in regards to the protest movement - and it had taken him several days to sort everything out entirely.

~

Connor had decided to stay over, Saturday evening - and made sure to call Desmond and Ezio so that they wouldn't worry (New York could be a dangerous place, and they did their best to look out for one another). The rest of Saturday had passed in a pleasant haze - they talked for a while, played a couple of card games - one of which Haytham taught him, and one that Connor had taught his father. The two of them had also gone on a companionable walk in one of the nearby parks, not always talking, but the silence had been comfortable in a way that the young man did not often experience with others.

Sunday had been just as fun - they watched some TV, played several rounds of the card games that they had played yesterday and the two of them chatted and spent time in companionable silence. Connor had also showed Haytham a multiplayer online game that the two of them could both play on the same laptop, though the controls had to be separated a little, given that both of them had rather large hands. Still, despite the fact that it had been slightly awkward at first, it was nice sitting next to Haytham as they played through the cooperative game together.

Haytham dropped him off at his apartment Sunday evening - they'd gone to Stefane's place for a quick bite to eat for dinner first, and Connor found that he was a bit sad to be leaving Haytham's presence- but he had work on Monday and it was much closer to the animal hospital from where he lived, than where Haytham did.  
A soft sigh left him as he wandered up to the fifth floor, a small smile on his face. Connor was quite happy, and the one armed hug that his father had given him shortly before the two of them had parted was surprisingly warm - and that warmth had carried him all the way up the stairs and over to the apartment that he shared. He lightly knocked on the door and entered, still smiling contentedly.

Ezio and Desmond were playing a video game in their living and dining room area, and Connor called out to them "Good evening - careful there's an enemy coming on your character's left hand side Desmond."

"Heeeey! You're back home! How are you? I'm guessing that the weekend with Dad went well - you're still smiling." Ezio responded, glancing over one shoulder and smiling a little before focusing back on the game. The two of them finished dealing with all of the enemies in the same area before signing off of the game.  
Desmond remarked "You’re grinning... What did you two do? We were a bit surprised when you said that you were going to be staying overnight - I know that you were worried that the two of you wouldn't get along..."

Connor shuffled his feet a little as he responded "We got along pretty well! We argued a bit while we were playing a game - but that was mostly on which direction we wanted to go, rather than anything else. We also talked about... A lot of things. Being able to talk to him face to face for as long as we wanted to was wonderful. He's funny and clever."

"Are you talking about your dad? Or did you go on a date that your dad set you up with?" Ezio teased with a gentle grin. "Then again, you don't tend to do well on blind dates."

"Hahaha. I was talking quite a bit with my dad. Why would you think I'd go on a date with anything?" Was the other implying that he had gone on a date with his father? Connor immediately thought of the two of them having something to eat at Stefane's earlier this evening... And immediately shook himself. That was a ridiculous thing to say and he could tell by the teasing grin on Ezio's face that the other had said it to mess with him. Exasperation filled him "And if that's a lead in to trying to get me to go on a blind date with someone, the answer is no Ezio. I am still scarred by the last disaster of a date you made me go on." He wasn’t the least bit distracted by the thought of what it would be like going on a date with Haytham - or struck by how handsome the other had looked in his police uniform, because he hadn’t thought of either of those things.

Ezio pouted a little at him before sighing "I still don't understand why you don't want to try to find someone, Connor. Being in love and loving someone who loves you back is wonderful. Leo, Sofia and I are happy together, and I had thought that you and Jamie would get along well together."

"We did - everything was going pretty well until Cesare showed up. Apparently they're in a Z relationship, being shared between him and his sister and you know how possessive the Borgia are. Besides, they really weren't my type. They're a lovely person but... Not what I'm looking for. Besides, I'm focused on my career right now. Maybe after I've completed my contract with the animal hospital and clinic I'll think about finding someone - but it depends on if they'll keep me on or if I have to look for work elsewhere... I might end up moving back closer to my childhood home." Though perhaps in a larger city, as Connor did like being able to live in a larger city than he had grown up in... He just wasn't sure he wanted to live in a really big city, either.

Ezio sighed and shook his head a little at that "Very well. What sort of people do you find attractive? Not that I will try to match you up with anyone, I'm just curious."  
Connor stared at his friend, raised an eyebrow and smiled a little "Ezio... I know that look. You're trying to plan something and I'll have none of it."

"Fine, fine. I'll lay off, I promise. Do you want to play with us for a while? It's still fairly early." Ezio promised, raising his hands in surrender before gesturing towards the game. "The game that we pre-ordered came in on Saturday and we've been waiting all weekend to see if you wanted to play too."

They'd been looking forwards to that game for months. Connor nodded eagerly and sat down next to his two friends, responding with an enthusiastic "I'm glad that it finally came in!"

~

Connor made sure to make breakfast for everyone - as he had to get up earliest for work - and snagged the lunch that Ezio had made yesterday for him. Mondays, more often than not, didn't quite seem to go right but the young vet was happy from what he'd been able to do during the weekend, than anything else. Yes, the three of them had stayed up until almost midnight, playing through the game that they'd been waiting for, for ages but he wasn't too groggy and he was still grinning at the fact that he'd caused his father to laugh and smile more than a couple of times while he'd been visiting the other.

He was walking briskly to work, glad for the exercise as it was further helping him to wake up, when his cell phone went off. He answered the call, dark brown eyes lighting up a little at who the caller ID said it was "Good morning, rake:ni. How are you?"

"Good morning Connor, you mentioned that you had woken up fairly early in order to get up for work, but I wasn't sure if you were up yet." Haytham responded, sounding a bit sheepish "I realized as I was getting ready for work myself, that I hadn't asked if you wanted to visit again. I had a wonderful time talking and playing games and if you would like to come around again, I'd be delighted to play host again... Unfortunately I have a couple of weekend shifts - one of my fellow captain is going on vacation, and the rest of us need to fill in for her. She deserves the time off, of course. I have a weekend free three weeks from now, if that works for you."

"That would be great! Do you want me to come over Saturday morning and leave Sunday evening, like we did this time? Or did you have something else in mind?" Connor asked curiously, waiting for the other to respond, glad that he was able to talk to the other as he made his way over to work. He was glad Haytham seemed to enjoy spending time with him as much as he enjoyed spending time with his father. It was reassuring - although why Ezio's teasing words about whether or not he'd gone on a date during the weekend was distracting and a bit irritating.

"That works fine for me - though if you would like to come over Friday evening, I'd be happy to have you... Though you might want to do something more fun on a Friday evening than see your old father." Haytham offered, joking a little self-deprecatingly.

"You're not old, rake:ni and I'd be delighted to come over Friday after work... Three weeks from now works fine for me - and I'll be looking forwards to it." Connor responded, a small frown appearing on his face as he wondered if he'd accidentally given the other the impression that he was uninterested in having the other in his life, now that they had the opportunity to spend a bit more time with one another - beyond the phone calls and emails, as he really hadn't meant to give the other that impression. He wanted to ask if he did, but wasn't sure how to phrase the question without it possibly upsetting the other... Or the other was just teasing him a little. He had quickly found out that Haytham liked to teasingly poke people and Connor was... Connor knew that he was good at falling for the other's teasing.

Haytham chuckled softly and responded with "It's flattering that you don't think that I'm old. See you in three weeks - and try not to get into trouble, hm? Not that the two of us meeting before was your fault. I've got to get going to the station now, though I'm glad that I caught you before you were at work."

"I'm glad that we were able to talk to you. Have a good day, dad!" Connor responded, the small smile appearing on his face as they ended the phone call.

~

Connor was intensely grateful that he had talked with his father this morning, as it was one of the few positive things that happened Monday. He had a half-dozen pets brought in to have their yearly checkups - and half of them showed signs of abuse. He made sure to report it to his boss, shaking a little at how badly battered the cat that had been brought in last had been - he was barely six months old, and all four of his legs were broken. Dr. Cormac had been called by the larger animal hospital to assist with several urgent surgeries, and while the other had been called away, a K9 police officer came in, bleeding heavily from a gunshot wound to the gut. Apparently the K9 officer had saved her human partner by bodily blocking the shot and taking down the person who had shot at the pair of them.

Connor was the only vet on staff who was in the small hospital at the time - and it would be too late for them to take the officer to the larger hospital, so Connor had washed up and enlisted the help of several of the experienced nurses and worked carefully to take the fragmented bullet out of the beautiful German Shepard, who was under a local anesthesia, kept still by the nurses. They had enough blood on hand to replace most of what had been lost, but she was going to be kept overnight, to make sure there weren't any complications from the surgery.

What made that even more awful was the fact that she'd been pregnant - and she'd been about to go on medical leave. Luckily the bullet - and the fragmented shrapnel from said bullet - hadn't lodged anywhere that directly affected the unborn pups, but it was very touch and go. Connor - as the surgical vet who had operated on her - was on call, and would be until she was healed enough to leave the hospital.

The young vet trudged home, barely managing to make it to the living room, before he collapsed face down on the couch, pulling a pillow in closer and groaning unhappily. Today had been _exhausting_ and awful on a number of levels... The K9 officer's human counterpart had been one of the two human officers who had arrested him and his roommates and the man had spent the entire time that Connor had been carefully working on his loyal, hard-working canine partner glaring suspiciously and muttering under his breath, which had made everything so much worse.

After a couple of moments, Connor looked at the TV, wanting to be distracted from his day (and trying to cling to the fact that Haytham had talked to him this morning  - that they'd be able to hang out in a few weeks) and it was going. It was a fantasy show that had real world elements to it. The three of them had been watching it for a couple of years now. It had a good plot line and solid characters.

Ezio asked from somewhere close to the kitchen "Would you like something to take the edge off, Connor? You look like hell."

"... No. I'm on call tonight, and I will be for a while, and I need to stay sober. Thanks for the offer, though." Connor responded, shaking his head after a moment.  
Desmond hummed a little in surprise "I thought that you wouldn't have to be on call in the evenings, since you switched to working for them full time during the day?"

"... Did a surgery on a K9 officer. Apparently it's the law that the surgical vet who operated on the officer to be the attending physician, here in NYC." Connor responded, still watching the TV, but not really listening to what was going on "And several pets came in with _unexplained injuries_ earlier today and I was the one who looked at t-"

The young veterinarian froze as he stared at the TV screen, dark brown eyes widening in horror as he was dragged back to a very different time, as an apartment complex in the show caught fire. The TV cameras showed several frightened people, surrounded by fire and coughing at the thick black clouds of smoke.

_He could feel the flames flickering and biting around him as he had his shirt pulled up over his nose and mouth. The door to the exit of his home was hot to the touch - which meant that he wasn't supposed to open the door. But he and his ista lived in a -_

Someone was shaking him and Connor startled back to reality. Ezio was holding onto his shoulders, looking serious and concerned "Connor? Connor are you here with us?"

Connor nodded, responding with "I'm here... although I wasn't for a little while. Thank you... Desmond how did you end up on the floor?"

"I had to get the remote to switch it off - besides I was closer to it than Ezio was at the time." Desmond responded, slowly sitting up and scooting closer to his friend, watching the other carefully. "I think we shouldn't watch anymore TV. I'll go pull up that calming playlist that you made a couple of years ago and start playing it on my laptop, alright?"

Connor nodded shakily, closing his eyes briefly before opening them up. Meditation seemed to be out - as the flames that still occasionally haunted his nightmares were there, burning ominously in his memories. "Sounds good to me... Where's the lotion? My hands are hurting."

"In the bathroom, do you want one of us to go get it for you? Or would you rather get it yourself?" Ezio asked, still close. He was absolutely happy to go get it, if Connor wasn't up to moving just yet, and Desmond started to play the music, softly enough not to startle any of them, but still definitely loud enough to be heard.

"I... I will go get it. Need to move for a bit. Thanks for your help and concern, both of you." Connor murmured, feeling rather embarrassed.

"We are happy to help you battle your inner demons. You've helped us with ours."  Ezio responded earnestly.

"Again, Thank you. It's what friends are for, right? To help one another when they need it." Connor responded, smiling shakily at the other as he slowly got up and made his way over to the bathroom. He really hoped that he didn't have nightmares this evening, he needed to catch up on sleep. 

~

Connor made sure to monitor Jessie the K9 officer as she recovered – making sure that her unborn pups were doing well. While he didn’t much care for her human partner as the other was … Irritating and arrogant, she was a sweet natured, protective dog, and the young vet truly enjoyed being able to care for her. However, as Jessie recovered, Connor had to interact with her human partner more, and he found that they were… Stressed and worried about her condition, and if the pups were injured. When Connor showed and explained that, barring any infections, Jessie would recover completely – and that the pups were fine, Officer Starrick relaxed a little.

Jessie recovered enough to head home in a week, and had leaned against him, licking his hands as her human partner came to fetch her. He had (with Dr. Cormac’s permission) had reported to Starrick about the abused animals that he’d taken care of earlier, and the officer promised that he would look  in on them – and to ensure that the pets were relocated to good families.


	4. Chapter 4

Several months had passed, since the first time that he'd hung out with his dad, and Connor found that he was visiting Haytham pretty much every weekend now. He also occasionally came to his dad's place during the week as well - but that was in order to allow Ezio to have some alone time with one or both of his lovers that didn't involve going to Desmond's parents' place. While they had said the both of them were welcome back any time...

As soon as the two of them came into the older Miles' place, William rounded on Desmond, looking irritated and looking as though he wanted to fight. Apparently the older man didn't think much of Desmond working at a mechanic shop, and Connor found that he couldn't stop thinking about what William Miles had said "You really have to work with machines, you could become an engineer and create useful things, like airplanes or medical equipment.  Honestly, when are you going to go back to school in order to do something productive with your life, Desmond?"

Desmond hadn't taken that well - not that Connor blamed him. Desmond spat back with "I'm happy at that shop! I work on things that I love to do and I get paid well! I have what I need in order to work at a shop, and I continue to learn new things every day. Just because I didn't become a lawyer, like you wanted me to, doesn't mean that you can try to control me in other ways, instead! Fuck off and leave me alone!"

The older Miles had tried to drag Connor into it, by turning around and asking him "Do you really think that he can afford to stay in that apartment with you, and that horny slut of a... Friend of the both of yours, if the rent goes up? I just wish that you had been able to encourage him to do something worthwhile for his life. Despite the fact that you play doctor for animals, at least it's a respected position, for the most part."

Between the shitty things he said about both of his friends, and insulting his career, Connor saw red for several moments, waking up to find himself having pinned Miles Senior to a wall, glaring darkly at the other. He had lifted the other off the floor and was bodily holding the other, keeping him pinned at his eye level - several inches off of the floor for Miles Senior. In a low, irritated voice, the young man growled "Desmond works hard, and he loves what he does. He pays an equal share of our rent. Ezio is not a slut and the fact that you would say that is small minded and petty... Even though it was entirely your desire to cause an argument. I know that you enjoy making Desmond cry in frustration and pain, you sadistic asshole. Just because you are miserable and unhappy doesn't mean that you should inflict that pain and misery on him as well."

With that, Connor had dropped the older Miles to the floor and stalked off, telling Desmond "I'm going to my dad's place. If you want to go to a hotel, I'll pay."

Desmond shook his head a little, slightly stunned by what he'd just seen "No... I had a talk with mom while you were... Talking to him. She's planning on kicking him out. She's tired of his shit too, and I'm staying to help her deal with that. You should go - he's yelling at her that if he sees you still here, he's going to call the cops."

Connor nodded and left the house, taking in several deep, calming breaths before making his way to his father's house. Haytham had given him a key a couple of weeks ago, partially as the apartment that he and Desmond shared with Ezio was the largest apartment that their friend and his lovers had access to, and after the third time that he'd shown up after one quick "Help I'm getting sexiled." phone call,  his father had given him carte blanche permission to come over whenever he needed or wanted- though a quick phone call so that his father knew that Connor was there - or headed over - was appreciated.

~

He arrived at his father's neighborhood as he dug out his phone, calling the number that Haytham had given him, and finding that the other's cell phone was off. He frowned a little but shook his head - it probably meant that the other was still at work - at six in the evening, that was a little bit odd, but perhaps the other was headed home? From what he had seen, the surface street traffic was particularly horrible today.

Connor knocked on the door to his father's house before unlocking it - Haytham had a garage, so it wasn't as if he could tell whether or not the other was home. The young man heard something cooking in the kitchen and called out "Hey, I'm here... You're phone's off - which is why I wasn't able to tell you I'm coming over... Unless you'd like me to go somewhere else?"

Haytham came out from the kitchen and looked Connor over, frowning a little as he moved closer "I forgot to turn it on, I suppose. You look tense and upset, would you like to tell me why?"

"Desmond's shitty father got on my nerves. He... Managed to push a couple of buttons and I nearly hit him. Desmond's mom is going to kick his ass out... Err... Not my friend - not that he lives there anymore - so he's staying there to help her deal with him." He was worried that he should have offered to stay with them, but he knew that William Miles would call the police if they didn't leave when he threatened to do so, as he'd done it to several of Desmond's other friends when he'd been younger.

He arrived at his father's neighborhood as he dug out his phone, calling the number that Haytham had given him, and finding that the other's cell phone was off. He frowned a little but shook his head - it probably meant that the other was still at work - at six in the evening, that was a little bit odd, but perhaps the other was headed home? From what he had seen, the surface street traffic was particularly horrible today.

Connor knocked on the door to his father's house before unlocking it - Haytham had a garage, so it wasn't as if he could tell whether or not the other was home. The young man heard something cooking in the kitchen and called out "Hey, I'm here... You're phone's off - which is why I wasn't able to tell you I'm coming over... Unless you'd like me to go somewhere else?"

Haytham came out from the kitchen and looked Connor over, frowning a little as he moved closer "I forgot to turn it on, I suppose. You look tense and upset, would you like to tell me why?"

"Desmond's shitty father got on my nerves. He... Managed to push a couple of buttons and I nearly hit him. Desmond's mom is going to kick his ass out... Err... Not my friend - not that he lives there anymore - so he's staying there to help her deal with him." He was worried that he should have offered to stay with them, but he knew that William Miles would call the police if they didn't leave when he threatened to do so, as he'd done it to several of Desmond's other friends when he'd been younger.

Haytham hummed a little in understanding and nodded. "From what you've told me, this has been building for years now... Particularly since Desmond rebelled against going into law, like his father had been. I have occasionally dealt with Miles senior. He's a defense attorney - and not the most... Scrupulous of attorneys, either. Do you want to check on your friend?"

"I do but... I know that Desmond can take care of himself - besides he knows that if he needs help, he can call me or Ezio or if he really needs help, I'm sure that he would call for it, before something... Really bad might happen."

His father frowned a little, moving a bit closer. "... William Miles has a cold temper, at least in a professional setting... Do you feel as though Desmond and his mother are in danger?" his father asked, voice full of concern as the other guided Connor to the couch, one hand pressing gently but insistently for him to sit down.

"I..." Connor hesitated for a moment, before shaking his head a little "I don't think so. He cares too much about his precious reputation, rather than because of any fondness he has for the two of them. If he gets arrested for... Things, I doubt that he'd be able to practice law anymore. He wanted Desmond to become an Attorney - preferably a defense attorney, so that he'd be able to get the other to become a member of the same law firm in order to continue to try to control him but... I don't think he realized that Desmond was his own person, despite his attempts to stop that from happening."

The frown on his father deepened a bit further at that. "I see. Where does Desmond's parents live? There might be a squad car looking for people who need to be ticketed in that neighborhood, and I might be able to check to make sure..."

Connor shook his head a little "I... I don't think that anything will happen, it's just... He's an asshole is all, and I know that he's going to try to drag both of them through the mud in order to try to clear himself in the court of public opinion... Probably, at least."

"It's likely that he will try... A divorce - particularly a messy one, like what may happen between the Miles' is still a death sentence for certain kinds of careers still, as ridiculous as that is. What does Mira do for a living?"

"She's a lawyer as well - she specialized in corporate issues. Apparently the two of them met when the company that she was working for currently accused his client of corporate espionage." Connor responded before sighing a little and rubbing his face with his hands. "... I'd like to talk about something else as I'm already worried and I'm going to start worrying more if I keep thinking about it."

Haytham nodded and responded with a gentle "Alright..." His father paused before the expression on his face became less serious and more teasing "Were the two of you sexiled from the apartment again? From what you told me, I'm sure your friend would be happy if one or both of you joined."

"Daaad!" Connor yelped, blushing darkly "We... All three of us had that conversation fairly on, actually. Ezio did offer, if either one of us got along pretty well with either or both of his partners but... The poly life isn't for me and I'm pretty sure Desmond turned into a puddle of embarrassment at the very thought." Not that he'd been much better - besides, while Ezio was objectively attractive in a number of ways, Connor wasn't the least bit physically attracted to the other.

The teasing grin on Haytham's face broadened a little "Really now? You hadn't mentioned that before. Ever been tempted?" His father looked really attractive, with the playful smirk on the other's face - though there seemed to be a little bit of an odd intensity in the other's eyes (such a stunning blue) as he asked.

"No. I mean... I... I am attracted to a few guys, as I am attracted to a few women as well, but to Ezio? Never. He's a wonderful friend and a fairly decent roommate - but not anyone I'd date or... Or sleep with." Connor managed out, a bit of a blush appearing on his face. He hadn't intended to tell the other that he was bisexual and was suddenly very worried about the other's reaction.

But his father didn't seem to react much at all to the information. He chuckled, the teasing smirk softening to something a bit gentler as Haytham responded with "I see. I'm glad that you trust me enough to tell me that. I'm... I believe the term is bisexual? As well, though I do tend to prefer men over women... Though your mother..." His father's voice seemed to catch for a couple of moments "She still has a part of my heart. I loved her dearly and some part of me always will, it seems."

"... I miss her, still." Connor whispered, slightly surprised by his father's admission, but leaning a little into Haytham, as the other had sat down next to him during their conversation.

"I do too." His father responded, wrapping an arm around him and brushing a stray lock of hair out of Connor's face.  
It was a surprisingly tender gesture, and Connor found that he was leaning just a touch closer, caught in how very blue his father's eyes were, and the affection and care that he could see when the fire alarm in Haytham's kitchen went off, and the two of them jerked apart. The young man froze at the shrill sound, trying to find the source of the flames as Haytham rushed to the kitchen.

His father came back out several moments later, looking rather chagrined "I had forgotten that I was cooking something - I'm going to open the windows and... Have you had anything to eat for dinner yet?"

Connor mutely shook his head as he tracked a little bit of smoky haze drift in from the kitchen. He forced himself to speak after a moment, voice strangled "No... Not yet."  
Haytham nodded "Do you want to go out to eat, then? We could try cooking something else, but it's quite hazy in the kitchen at the moment, and it will take the exhaust fan at least an hour to clear everything out."

"I... Going out sounds fine to me." Connor found himself saying, shaking himself out of where his mind was going. He smiled over at Haytham and the two of them made sure to open the windows just enough to let the smoke escape, but not enough so that it would be easy for any would-be burglars to enter the house. They also made sure to lock the windows, so they wouldn't be opened further - at least not easily. "It's going to be really busy wherever we go... It's Friday, after all."

"This is true... Hmm perhaps we should get sandwiches and have a picnic at the park six blocks west of here? There's a deli close by that has excellent sandwiches." Haytham offered. “… I will need to change out of uniform first.”

Connor nodded, responding with "That sounds good to me... Being outside sounds like a good idea, at least for a while." The young man registered that Haytham had been wearing his police officer’s uniform for the first time since he’d come in… And as Haytham left the room, the young man watched the other leave, unable to help but admire the way the other moved… And that the outfit seemed to ace…. Oh no. Nope. He was not having those sorts of thoughts about his father. He was… Rattled was all, and the fact that Haytham accepted him for who he was – and more than that didn’t seem to think that it was remarkable… Along with the misery that he’d been through recently was messing with him.

~

Sandwiches and drinks in hand, the two of them made their way to the nearby park. Haytham had double checked to make sure that he'd turned his cell phone on before the two of them left his home, in case someone tried to contact him. He glanced over at Connor and chuckled softly. Connor smiled softly as the two of them stepped onto the paved walkway, glancing up at the sky briefly. It was a partially cloudy day - and the sun hadn't quite set, though the beginning of what looked to be a spectacular sunset. Vivid orange, gold and even some pink could be seen in the sky, painting the clouds and the open air around it in stunning colors - which were in sharp relief to the dark side of the clouds and the darkening blue sky towards the east... But as he glanced over at Haytham, the younger man couldn't help but feel that the sight was made much better, because his father was by his side - the other's light blue-grey eyes sparkling in amusement and fondness.

They made their way along the edge of the large, grassy field and through the trees. There were benches placed along the pathway, but neither of them wanted to stop too close to the entrance of the park - as there were a number of other people enjoying this small oasis of natural beauty in such a large city, and the two of them wanted to remain undisturbed - rather than accidentally get hit by a frisbee, or their dinners possibly snatched by an overeager dog.

The lamp posts were subtly included in this particular park, which was a nice touch, in Connor's opinion. Most of the picnic tables were being used - not that Connor was surprised - a warm (but not hot) summer day like this meant a lot of people would be out and about enjoying the day as well. A soft sigh left him as they reached another field of grass - this one smaller than many of the others. There was also no one else in this particular field, and Connor gently nudged his father, pointing to a tree, fairly close to a lamp post, without them being directly in the light. "What do you think about having dinner over there?"

There were no benches in this manufactured meadow, but if they went back to find one, they would encounter more people. Haytham hummed in consideration before responding with a small smile and a nod "That sounds like a wonderful idea to me."

The two of them made their way over there, sitting down next to one another and leaning against the tree a little. Connor unwrapped the sandwich he'd been given and hummed a little "This looks and smells great." He took a bite of the sandwich - he hadn't been to this deli before, but given that it had taken them some time to make their way to the head of the line that they'd been waiting for, the young man hoped that the food was well worth the wait.

Haytham smiled a little at that, eating a bit of his own sandwich before mentioning quietly "Charles mentioned that you were the one to operate on Jessie. She gave birth to seven beautiful puppies two weeks ago. I have pictures, if you'd like to see them."

Connor's eyes lit up at the other's offer and he nodded "I would! I wondered how she was doing. She was very patient and sweet... Although she managed to work her way out of her cage, the first night that she was at the hospital... She didn't try to get further than the door. She wagged her tail at me and chuffed, pleased with herself for escaping. The other nights, she stayed where she was supposed to..."

Haytham chuckled a little "Jessie is quite spirited - she likely wanted to show you that she could escape if she wanted to, but chose to stay where she was put. She is an excellent officer and is very good at what she does. Her pups were fathered by another of the K9 officers, and both Charles and Pearl are hopeful that most of her pups will be very good future officers - though at least one of them may be trained to be seeing eye dogs instead. Lee and Attaway are trying to decide how they want to proceed with the litter. Not that they'll be taken from their mother for months, of course." The other pulled out his phone, and started searching for something - probably the puppy pictures.

A small smile appeared on Connor's face and he responded with "I hope that wherever they end up going, that they will have good and loving homes. Do they have names yet?"  
Haytham nodded and pressed closer to Connor (who was suddenly very aware  of how close the two of them were and was failing to stop himself from blushing a little) murmuring "Here are all of them - from left to right is; Rico, Freckles, Kina, Jet, Ray, Sita, and Clip. Four girls and three boys. Charles plans on asking that you are the one to ensure that they have all their shots - as well as making sure that they are properly chipped, in case they get lost, when they are old enough to do so."

"I'd be happy and honored to do so. I've handled a couple of litters coming in all at once to get check-ups and shots all at once." Connor responded "All of them are very cute, thanks for showing me them."

"You're welcome." His father responded, the small smile on his face widening a little. The two of them talked about how work had gone for each of them, and neither minded when the conversation lulled for a little bit, as both of them were taken by the splendor of the sunset - and how it changed as the sun fully set.

The two of them were still leaning against one another - and the tree - when Haytham's phone rang, startling the both of them out of the companionable (and slightly sleepy) silence that had lingered. The police captain answered the phone immediately, asking "Captain Kenway speaking, who may I ask is calling?"

The person on the other end answered, but Connor couldn't hear what they said - not unless he really concentrated, and it was inconsiderate to eavesdrop on someone else's conversation - even if they were having it right next to you. Haytham hummed and said yes or I see every so often, a small frown gradually replacing the contented smile as the other person continued to speak. The conversation lasted for at least ten minutes - not that Haytham spoke much, until "I will be there as soon as I can. I'm not home at the moment, but I soon - ... You... He what? ..." A sigh escaped Haytham the other said "I am near the south entrance of Mount Prospect park, and I have someone with me. I see. We will be there in ten minutes." His father listened to the other speak for a little bit longer, before the call ended and Haytham sighed, shaking his head a little, still frowning a bit.

Connor started to stand up, asking "I'm guessing that you need to go somewhere, rake:ni?"

"That I do. Chief Birch decided to drop in for a surprise visit and is demanding that we do emergency preparedness drills. It shouldn't take more than a couple of hours - he's done this before, and my precinct is one of the most efficient while doing such drills, but he usually finds fault in something and has everyone run through the drills at least six times." 

Haytham responded, the frown turning into a little bit of a scowl, before he shook his head a little and smiling ruefully at Connor as he continued to speak "I wish that our evening didn't have to end so abruptly. The officer who is coming to pick the both of us up will drop you off at home - unless you'd rather go back to your apartment?"

Connor shook his head, responding with a quiet "I'd rather be at your place - unless these drills are going to be going all weekend?"

Haytham shook his head "They won't be. Chief Birch might keep us doing different drills until two in the morning, but no longer than that. The mayor has scolded him about that in the past and he minds that better now."

Connor nodded, and the two of them made their way over to the south entrance of the park. He wasn’t entirely sure if his father was telling him the truth, but decided that if the other was lying to him, or at least not telling him the full truth, it really wasn’t his business to know – the other was a police captain after all.


	5. Chapter 5

Despite the fact that Haytham had told him that everything was fine - and that the reason why the other was being asked to return to the station was for training purposes, the young man couldn't help but worry and fret after Haytham left with the other police officer. His father had briefly come in to change into his uniform again, and Connor had been  _ very _ distracted for several long moments as the other left, unable to stop himself from watching his father leave gracefully. The crisp, clean lines of the uniform, and the dark navy blue really did show the other's powerful physique and added a little bit to the calm, in-control air that Haytham usually had around him.

A shiver of  _ something _ had run down his back and Connor was glad that he was able to look at his father's face when the other turned to get into the car, waving goodbye to the other from the door, having promised to go inside and lock the door after he had his fill of fresh air in the brief period of time they had to talk before Haytham had to go again. He took in a shaky breath, watching the police car drive off, before heading in, making sure to lock it twice before wandering over to the living room couch and sitting down, staring blankly at the TV.

That was the second time he'd been so  _ distracted _ by his father in uniform... And he worried that it might not be a good thing. Haytham was a charming, charismatic and devastatingly intelligent man. The other could also be  _ stubborn _ , hotheaded and incredibly competitive when playing games... But Connor delighted the fact that he could  _ argue _ with Haytham and the two of them didn't tear each other to pieces (most of the time). His father seemed to get that one of the reasons why Connor enjoyed arguing was that he liked to  _ debate _ with someone about a given topic that he was trying to figure out, and wanted to see what someone else thought - how and  _ why _ they approached such a thing and to debate the pros and cons of each side...

Which was something that neither Ezio nor Desmond entirely got... Then again an  _ argument _ in the Miles household seemed to have consisted of William Miles shouting himself hoarse, ignoring everything that anyone else was trying to say, as he was Right and anyone who disagreed with him was Wrong and needed to Shut Up... Which caused his friend to either shut down completely, or to go on one long, impressive tirade about something for over an hour. Ezio preferred to avoid arguments - and when one started, the other preferred to mediate or avoid the topic that was trying to be discussed by diverting the conversation entirely (which could get incredibly frustrating).

Haytham's smile was fairly rare, but each that Connor had received was a wonderful treasure that the young man prized and held dearly in his heart. His father  _ laughing _ was rarer still, and just as precious and treasured. He knew that Haytham enjoyed the truly terrible pun wars that the two of them could get into - his eyes lighting up each time one of them said a pun that related to the last one that was spoken by the other... He knew that he was just starting to get to know Haytham, but what Connor  _ did _ know of his father, he truly respected and genuinely liked... Including the mischievous smirk that would occasionally play on the other's face while they were playing a game before the other did a devastatingly clever move that  _ completely  _ ruined whatever strategy that he had in mind, leaving him to scramble some sort of defense or counter.

A soft, warm smile appeared on his face as Connor sighed softly, his heart beating faster than normal as his feelings for his father made themselves readily apparent to him. Though Haytham was gone, the other's house had such clear signs of who it belonged to, he could almost imagine the other working on something in another room quietly... Connor picked up a remote and idly started flipping through the channels, a small and loving smile still on his face as he tried to find something that he wanted to watch... He wanted to stay up for a while longer (though he might go to bed, if it was close to midnight and his father hadn't come home yet).

_ The main character of the show he was watching was standing dramatically on a balcony, their eyes focused entirely on the character below them, as they sobbed out "Don't you understand? I'm in love with you, Pat! I need you in my life - without you there is no color, no light in my life!" _

_ Philip turned around, their eyes widening in shock as they sputtered "And just how do you know that you're in love with me?! Why should I believe you Kelly, when you could be trying to manipulate Â me, so that you can get close enough to kill my father?" _

_ "I don't care about killing him anymore! All I want is you, my beloved. When you are with me, my heart races and even when you're gone, all I can think about is you... Please, Pat. I love you dearly. I will renounce being a member of the Brotherhood, if that will prove to you that I love you. I will cast aside my blades and guns, my armor and my Brothers and Sisters, if it means that you know how much I love you..." _

The characters continued to noisily go back and forth about whether or not Kelly actually loved Pat, or if it was some sort of Brotherhood scheme... But as Kelly continued to describe their symptoms, something that the young vet had been desperately trying to ignore was now impossible to do so.

Connor swallowed hard, switching off  _ The _ S _ pade and The Cross - The Lives and Deaths of Eternal Enemies _ as he came to the realization that he had a crush on his own father. There was a chance that he was simply conflating the two kinds of love â€“ or that he was just a bit over-eager to get to know his father, and that his entirely platonic feelings for Haytham just closely  _ resembled _ a burgeoning romantic attraction, as he was starting to love Haytham, as when he was younger, he never really had the chance to actually get to know the other. Perhaps a bit of space to get himself sorted out would help? Not that he was going to leave tonight... It would be rude to just  _ vanish  _ on Haytham - and Ezio and his lovers were likely still at the apartment.

~

Connor had closed his eyes for a couple of moments - having switched the TV back on, in order to try to distract himself from what might be dealing with, in regards to his emotions, when he blinked up at Haytham, staring up at the other in mild confusion. The TV was off and he realized that he was half slumped over the arm of his father's couch.

Haytham was standing over him, frowning a little in concern in the near pitch darkness of the other's living room, and one of his father's hands was lightly resting on one of his shoulders "Are you alright, Connor?"

"Yeah... I'm fine... I guess that I fell asleep... I had meant to stay up until you came home... Or midnight, whichever came first. What time is it?" Connor responded, noting that Haytham was leaning over him, only a couple of inches away from his face.

"It's a bit after one in the morning... I... It's sweet of you to have tried to stay up waiting for me... Both of us should be in bed. Tomorrow or... Rather later today I suspect will start late for the both of us." The older man remarked, looking at Connor closely, still a little concerned before leaning a bit closer and pressing a light kiss to the vet's forehead. "Need a hand getting up? I know that occasionally after I've slept on that couch, I find that my legs are asleep."

"I... Uhm... I'll try to get... Get up." Connor managed out in some semblance of a coherent statement. Warmth was radiating through him from the spot that his father had kissed him - it was an entirely platonic and familial gesture... And he was blushing, nonetheless. As he started to get up, Drake rushed between the two of them, meowing a little as the feline batted at their feet before dancing off. Connor's legs felt like jelly, but he wasn't sure it was because he'd fallen asleep on the couch. "I... A hand going to bed would be helpful... sorry..."

His father chuckled and smiled gently at him, and Connor realized that the other was still in his uniform "There's no reason to apologize, it's happened to me before - I'm just glad that you won't have to wobbly your way to bed on uncoordinated limbs that have pins and needles jabbing everywhere."

Haytham took a step back and helped Connor up to his feet, and the young man was suddenly  _ very _ much aware of how strong his father was - there were several reasons why he was the designated walker, on the occasions that he and his friends went out drinking - in addition to become either very cuddly or very  _ fight _ - _ me _ to anyone who seemed to look at him or his friends oddly, apparently, Connor had been told that he would find somewhere to sit and refuse to move - forcing his friends to carry him if they wanted him to move... Ezio and Desmond could - working together, while sober. He bit the inside of a cheek, to stop himself from saying something spectacularly  _ stupid _ and allowed Haytham to wrap an arm around his waist, as the two of them made their way to the bedrooms.

Connor was also acutely aware that the other was still in his police officer's uniform, and Haytham was still incredibly attractive in it. The other was also vaguely intimidating - but not in a bad way, and the young man wondered if he could blame the fact that he was mostly asleep on the fact that he very much wanted to kiss the other... Haytham's eyes were an almost unearthly shade of blue in the darkness, and it took a stumble to wake Connor out of the daze - and the almost attempt to press a kiss to the other's lips. "S-sorry."

"It's alright... It's difficult to move around when you're very nearly asleep, and I really don't mind helping you when you need or wish for it." Haytham murmured, voice warm and kind... But there was also a firmness to the other's voice that was startling. His father helped him to sit on the bed before his father said firmly, holding his chin gently so that Connor had to look the other square in the eyes "Connor, I am  _ happy _ and honored to be able to get to know you, and you don't need to apologize for things like this... Helping one another when one needs it - or when they ask for help is part of what family is supposed to  _ do _ for one another... You needn't apologize for such things."

"I..." There was something caught in his throat and Connor could feel his heart fluttering a little in his chest as his eyes burned, unsure as to just how to respond to his father's words. There was a painful, confused burning in his throat - or was it in his heart? "I... I will keep that in mind. I... Whatever you need just... Just ask and I'll do my best to help you, too." It wasn't that he hadn't been _unwelcome_ with his extended family, but he knew that his presence had been an unexpected thing, when he'd first come to live with them - and he hadn't been a particularly _easy_ child to deal with - being close to nonverbal for over a year after what happened to his mother - and that he kicked and fussed every time his hands needed to be treated for the burns that he'd sustained then.

Haytham hummed, nodding a little and pressed another light kiss to his forehead. "I will keep that in mind, and if I do need or want help, I will say something." The older man hugged Connor lightly for a couple of moments before letting go, murmuring "I can tell that you're about to fall asleep, I'll go now, so that you can fall asleep."

Connor nodded, and hugged the other back, not daring to voice any of the thoughts that were going through his mind and he managed as the other left, managing to say just before Haytham closed the door "Good night, rake:ni." He settled into bed and fell asleep after a while, his mind spinning.

~

Connor woke up the next day, feeling slightly out of it, but when he realized that it was past ten in the morning... With a sigh, he slowly got up and got ready for the day. The spare room that his father let him use was nice, and the young man moved around silently, as he was fairly sure that Haytham was still asleep. He stealthily moved over to the other's study, noting that it was empty, and he continued to move silently through the house - finding that Haytham was nowhere to be seen. Given the fact that his father had spent a much larger portion of yesterday awake, it made sense that his father was still asleep. The young man entered the kitchen, poking around in his father's fridge and grabbing out several things, starting to make breakfast for both himself and Haytham - humming softly to himself as he did so. Connor technically could turn on the TV, but the noise might wake up his father, which would be rude, so he was content with a little bit of silence.

Connor had just finished dividing the eggs and bacon between the two plates and had just sunk in a couple of pieces of bread in the toaster, when Haytham entered the room, his voice a bit rougher than usual asking "That smells and looks  _ wonderful _ I hope that you don't mind if I have some?" The other's hair - though kept short - was obviously a bit messy from sleep, and the other looked around the kitchen, as if he was ever so slightly confused. Haytham shuffled closer to him and smiled a little at him.

A shiver ran down Connor's back and it took him a couple of moments to answer the other's question - it didn't help that his father was wandering around in a sleep shirt and what appeared to be boxer shorts... And  _ nothing _ else. Decidedly  _ not _ staring at his father's legs ... Or part of the other's chest, where the buttons had come undone... Connor cheerfully responded with "I made sure to make enough for both of us. The eggs are scrambled, with cheese, onion and a couple of spices. Bacon's cooked the way it's supposed to be and the toast should be ready in a couple of minutes. I hope I didn't wake you up, I was trying to be quiet."

"I woke up to the smell of some truly delicious smelling food - though I probably would have woken up soon anyways - I set my alarm for five minutes after this woke me up. I have butter, jam and peanut butter - which do you prefer on your toast?" Haytham responded, voice still a bit rougher than normal, and sending a couple more shivers through Connor. "I had planned on making you breakfast this morning but... Events yesterday conspired against me, it seemed."

"Oh... We usually cook meals together, though it's nice of you to think of that..." Connor responded, mildly surprised to hear that.

"Hmm... It seems that you've forgotten what today is..." His father rumbled, an amused smile appearing on his face.

"What do you mean by that?" The young vet asked, trying to figure out what the other was referring to, shifting out of the way as Haytham moved further into the kitchen.

The other rifled through the cabinets, before pulling out a small, wrapped package, handing it over to Connor as he said "Happy Birthday, son."

"Oh! It... It is the fourth. I... yeah, I did forget. Th-thanks for the birthday gift!" Connor responded, grinning brightly and hugging Haytham briefly before pulling away. He opened the gift, his eyes lighting up when inside the box was a pair of tickets to a paintball battle... The tickets were good today, in the afternoon "Thanks! This is going to be a lot of fun! Are you... Do you want to come with me?"

"I would - the paintball mock battle is a couple of hours' drive from here - I have prepared things for lunch that we can put it in a cooler." His father remarked lightly, a secretive sort of smile appearing on his face - as if the other knew something that he didn't. "But for now - breakfast. It looks and smells  _ wonderful _ thank you, Connor."

The younger man grinned at that, and the two of them grabbed their breakfasts and ate - each snagging one of the freshly toasted pieces of bread. "You're welcome, rake:ni." Connor murmured through a mouthful of toast.

~

Three hours later, found Connor and Haytham at the paintball battlefield - there were two bases, and in between and around them - in a fenced off radius - was something that closely resembled a forest - and from what the young man could tell, there were few _actual_ paths through this simulated forest - you had to make your own way through. A small stream cut through the middle of the battlefield, marking where the two teams territory was divided. The two of them would be on the same team together, and they were about to meet the rest of their teammates...

There standing in the paintball armor and grinning cheerfully at him were Ezio, Desmond, Mira - Desmond's mom, as well as Kanen and Myriam. A broad grin appeared on Connor's face as he moved towards them, and all of them hugged him back. "I... This is a  _ wonderful _ surprise! Kanen, Myriam it's been  _ forever _ when did you...? When did you arrive in New York?"

"We arrived yesterday afternoon - Ezio came to pick us up - telling you that he was going to be with his lovers instead." Kanen explained with a small grin. "It was your dad who suggested that we all paintball together - we all know how much you enjoy the game and it sounded like a lot of fun - besides, did you think I was going to miss your first Birthday after getting the job you've always wanted? No  _ way _ Raton."

Myriam grinned and nodded in agreement "Yeah. I've missed you and was planning on visiting - your dad contacted me and Kanen, with the plan to all be together for paintball and pizza for your birthday and it sounded good to me."

Connor blinked a little in surprise and glanced over at Haytham - who looked slightly flustered and he asked "What do you mean by that?"

Desmond answered with a cheerful "Well, Ezio and I were trying to figure out what we wanted to do for your birthday - and your dad called us with going here - and asked if there was anyone else that you'd like to see and hang out with on your birthday - and since Kanen and Myriam are two of your best friends from childhood, we told him yeah, there was."

Connor's eyes widened a little and he moved closer to Haytham, surprised at how well thought out this was, finding that his voice wasn't cooperating with hi for several moments - while he didn't enjoy surprise  _ parties _ per se... He was definitely touched by this gesture on his father's part and was stunned that the other would go to so much trouble on his account... To give him this kind of birthday. "I... Thank you, dad. This is... I..." He couldn't really think of much more than to thank the other for what he'd done. It was a sweet gesture - and it... It also showed that the other had been paying attention when he'd mentioned that he had missed a couple of his old friends quite a bit, among other things.

Haytham seemed a little bit awkward at first, and not quite looked at him (which was fine with Connor, who wasn't quite looking at his father, too) and responded with "I... I haven't been involved in your life as much as I should have, up until recently and I... I wanted to show you, that as long as you are interested in me being in your life, that I... That I do  _ care _ for you, though I am... Not the best at expressing such things."

The vet's heart lurched in his chest as his eyes stung a little - even as as huge grin appeared on his face at his father's heartfelt words. This was... This gesture was something that no one had done for him before and he responded with a quiet "I'm glad that you are in my life more now, and I... We lived far from one another, and I was... Â You tried to be part of my life and I always enjoyed the phone calls that we had, and looked forwards to speaking with you every month."

Haytham cleared his throat, nodding a little and murmuring quietly "I... I am glad to hear that, thank you."

Before any of them could say anything else, the paintball battlefield employee came in and started to explain the rules of the game - nothing that none of them hadn't heard before, but it was important to go over again, especially as the rules at this battlefield were modified so that a teammate could heal a teammate, if they had one of the two health kits and resuscitated a downed teammate. Connor was chosen as team captain and they were introduced to their rival team.

Their rival team had no one on it that Connor recognized - though Haytham jerked a little in surprise as one of the people on the team was a tall, slightly pudgy man with thin, short hair and stubble around his mouth and chin. The other man seemed to recognize his father - by the slightly surprised expression that turned into a strange sort of smirk and the other greeted Haytham by name with "Good afternoon, Haytham. Are you the rival team captain?"

His father stared at the other, seemingly a bit lost for words before Ezio answered for him "No... Connor is - it's his birthday, which is why we all are here... Who are-"

The Italian went quiet as the strange man stared at Ezio, looking vaguely unimpressed and staring at him with a strange intensity before responding with "My name is unimportant - though I am curious Â as to who  _ you _ are, Connor. It is not often that Haytham would allow someone else to run a team - even though this is a  _ friendly _ competition." The strange man turned that oddly intense stare on Connor, who withdrew a little, edging slightly towards his father.

There was... This man was almost terrifying, but the young vet couldn't say why that was. Haytham moved a little closer, lightly clapping him on one shoulder and squeezing lightly with one hand, a silently reassuring gesture and answering with an almost defiant "Connor is my son."

The referee stepped between the two teams and asked "Are the two captains ready?"

The stranger nodded, a small smirk appearing on his face as he responded with "I am ready."

Connor forced himself to speak with a mostly not-shaky "I am ready as well." This had to be some form of psychological warfare - although why someone would be so deadly serious about  _ paintball _ was beyond the young man.

The referee nodded "Very well - you have ten minutes to find hiding places - your objective is to take your enemy's base - while also ensuring that you take out as many of your opposing team as possible. If you lose control of your base, while not having taken the opposing team, you will not lose, Â but as the paintball caches are mainly in the bases, finding more ammo will be much more difficult - there are a couple of hidden ammo boxes and one additional health kit in the forest between your bases. good luck and have fun, teams!"

With that, they were off.

~

The game had ended in a draw. Connor had  _ loved _ running through the trees - having learned how to do so from his aunt and grandmother, and finding that it generally gave him a strategic advantage in games like this - few people thought to look  _ up _ and it wasn't against the rules. Watching his father shoot and take out  _ half _ of the enemy team when they tried to swarm the base, taking them out with practiced precision had been  _ amazing _ \- none of the enemy team members had been able to get off a shot - Haytham's sudden appearance had flustered them just long enough to slow their reaction times.

** Unfortunately, the stranger who knew his father's name was both the team leader - and just a good of a shot as his father was - the sneaky bastard had snuck in while Haytham had been dealing with the wave of people, and had taken out Kanen and Desmond, and was in an all out shooting battle with Myriam and Ezio. Connor had  _ resuscitated _ both Desmond and Kanen - as he had found the med-kit that had been hidden in the forest. The stranger had retreated when he noticed that he was  _ severely  _ outgunned, but he sniped Ezio and Kanen when they'd tried to take their base, with Myriam and Desmond just barely able to avoid his fire... But unfortunately getting hit by the remaining enemy teammates - though they'd gone down in a blaze of glory, taking out all but the oddly intense stranger.   
**

Connor and Haytham cautiously made their way towards the enemy base - while it had been possible that the stranger would try to take their base as neither of them were there to defend it, the two of them had figured that it would be a bit more likely that Â they might be able to take him out if they flanked him from opposite sides... But the stranger had taken Connor by surprise - though the young man  _ had _ been able to tell Haytham where the other was before the stranger had managed to tag him - not that Connor had made it  _ easy _ for the other - as he had done his best do duck and dodge from cover to cover. The stranger and Haytham stared one another down, each watching his opponent carefully, and went for their guns at the same time - it was almost like a scene from a western movie. They dodged and tucked - shot and shouted vaguely mysterious things at one another, but in the end the two of them had shot each other at the same time, and though each tried to dodge the paint, they'd both gotten splattered at the same time, and the game had ended.

Connor made his way over to Haytham, and the two of them walked off the field together, the younger man in awe of just how  _ good _ the other was at paintball - then again Haytham  _ was _ a police captain, and the young vet was fairly sure that the other had to be proficient in a number of firearms - and he supposed that paintball weapons weren't all that different.

Once everyone was back together, Connor had exuberantly told the tale of the shoot-out between Haytham and the talented stranger, glancing admiringly at his father every once and awhile, finishing with "I hope that there were cameras showing how the final standoff went down, as I'm not sure I'm giving it credit. It was  _ amazing _ ."

"There were and we were allowed to watch! It was  _ spectacular _ . You're a fantastic shot, Mr. Kenway." His friends responded at almost the same time, all of them watching Haytham with a deeper feeling of respect and a bit of awe.

Haytham coughed a little, looking a little bit awkward "I... Thank you. I have had firearms training due to my career, and I find that all of you are quite talented at paintball as well." He cleared his throat a little before continuing, still seemingly feeling awkward "Shall we head off to have lunch? I'm not sure about all of you, but all of that exercise has left me famished."

"That sounds good to me!" Connor responded cheerfully, wondering what the rather knowing expressions on his friends' faces were, as they glanced from Haytham to Connor and back again before they all nodded in agreement.

~

It seemed as though his birthday surprises hadn't ended, as when they arrived at a close by park to eat - not only had everyone brought something along with them, Desmond and Haytham set up a propane barbeque grill and the things that most people brought were toppings for pizza - grilled pizza was  _ amazing _ when done right, and everyone insisted that Connor pick what he wanted first - as it was his birthday - and though he tried to argue, his points were firmly turned away.

Connor came up to his father, pizza in hand and murmured quietly "Thank you, for organizing this, father. It's... This is  _ wonderful _ ." The smoke was bothering his eyes a little, and the young man was blinking rapidly.

Haytham smiled a little as he took the pizza from him, before tugging the younger man into a one armed hug "You're welcome - and your friends Ezio and Desmond were instrumental in pulling everything together with me... This was just as much their plan as it was mine."

A small smile appeared on Connor's face and he nodded in understanding. His friends were laughing and chatting as Desmond poured drinks for everyone - even though no one had brought alcohol with them, he was still mixing drinks with the different juice and soda pop flavors that people had brought with them. Ezio had just come back from somewhere, a box in hand that looked a lot like a cake box. Everyone was laughing and smiling and being able to enjoy spending time with all of them - and Haytham was a precious gift that the young man wasn't going to easily give up. The smile on his face brightened a little as he looked at his father, responding to the other with a quiet "Alright, I'll be sure to thank them as well. I'm glad that you're here too." **  
**

Haytham smiled back, answering just as quietly "I'm glad that I had the chance to  _ be _ here with you."

** Connor nodded, smiling a little bit shyly at that. It was. Connor was very glad to  _ know _ that the other did actually enjoy spending time with him, and helping to arrange all of this was a very clear sign of this. "Thank you. I'm glad that you were able to be here as well."   
**


	6. Chapter 6

Several months later found Connor pacing in his father's living room, trying to figure out just how to tell the other how the blind date that he'd had yesterday evening had gone, without seeming as if he was complaining too much. The young man had been worried that he might be developing wildly inappropriate feelings for his father, or he was just confusing himself as to what sort of love and affection he felt for Haytham... So, shortly after his birthday, he had asked Ezio to set him up on a couple of dates with people the other thought might fit well with him. The Italian had been  _ delighted _ and immediately started to work on it.

While not all of the handful of dates he'd been on with different people had been a complete  _ catastrophe _ none of them had gone well. At  _ all _ . He had told his father about each and every one of them, and Haytham had been a sympathetic - if deeply  _ amused _ \- ear. "You told me earlier that you were going to be on another blind date, set up by your friend. How did it go?" Haytham prompted, raising an eyebrow at him, a small smile on the other's face.

"It went  _ awful _ ! It all started when I showed up at the restaurant fifteen minutes early. Dr. Cormac let me leave a bit early yesterday, as I had... I had dealt with a pet who'd accidentally knocked over a candle and had gotten burned and..." Connor paused for a moment and shivered. The burns on the snake's scales hadn't been  _ extensive _ but it had been difficult for the young vet to work on "... And I have issues with fire and burn wounds."

Haytham gently tugged him onto the couch next to him, hugging him briefly, before loosening his hold "You can get up and continue pacing if you like... You just looked as though you needed a hug."

The younger man hoped that the light blush on his face wasn't something that Haytham could see, as close as they were. He leaned a little into the other's gentle embrace, enjoying being able to be so close to his father. "I... the hug is wonderful, thank you. I... I think I want to stay close. So I was there fifteen minutes before the agreed upon time for both of us to be at the restaurant. It's pretty busy and there's a line to get in, but since Ezio put in a reservation in my name, when I get to the head of the line six minutes later, they have me seated. So I wait for them to show up... An hour and a half after we agreed to meet, someone shows up at the table I'm at. He's attractive - dark hair and eyes... He's got a mustache and goatee. He  _ demands _ my name, and why I'm sitting at  _ his _ table. Apparently he eats out every night, and on Thursdays he eats at that restaurants. I tell him that it's none of his business and that this table was reserved for me tonight. He starts causing a  _ big _ fuss and one of the servers show up, trying to calm him down from his tantrum."

Connor shuddered a little, shaking his head a little, covering his hands with his face. "While he's having a big melt down, my date shows up. A pretty blond woman with dark eyes... And he starts throwing an even  _ bigger _ fit because apparently they're either dating, or siblings or... Kind of both? She starts hissing and spitting at him - because she wanted to go on a date, and a friend of a friend said that I was kind and warm. They continue to have a big, ugly blowout fight in the middle of the restaurant and I... If the tables were bigger at that place I probably would have hid under it while they had it out... But then the guy tries to grab her - she dodges and then he... He grabs at her again, this time catching her by the throat."

The young man paused for a moment, shaking his head a little and gathering his thoughts, to continue the story. His father's concerned expression deepened considerably, and the other gestured for him to continue the story. He cleared his throat a little and continued with "So I step in, breaking his hold on her throat and she goes running for the bathroom... Probably to call the police, but one of his lackeys blocks the door. He's even angrier because I made him let her go and goes on a rant that he's the son of the mayor and how I'm going to pay for it and on and on and on. Before he could try to do anything he threatened, a couple of men about your age show up... They're also eating here. Both of them are cops and tell him to calm down or they'll drag his disruptive  _ ass _ and put him in the drunk tank, son of the mayor or not. He and his goons clear off - and he orders her to come with him."

Connor paused for breath, shaking his head a little. It had been  _ awful _ . "She actually stays at the restaurant and once he's gone, awkwardly introduces herself as Lucrezia Borgia... And that her older brother - the lunatic who'd just choked her was... How did she put it?  _ Overprotective and passionate _ but ultimately well meaning. We talk for a while and it's obvious that she's... She's terrified of what'll happen if she goes home. The pair of detectives come to our table and ask if we're ok. I tell them that I'm fine and gently encourage her to tell the truth... As I could tell that she was  _ terrified _ the entire time we were at dinner and she admits that she'd feel safer if she didn't go home, and they promised that they'd take her somewhere safe... And I have their badge names and numbers just in case she... She just  _ disappears _ ... So yeah, that was yesterday's date."

Haytham lightly patted Connor on the back, taking a couple of seconds to process everything that the younger man had just told him, before saying quietly "You did the best that you could in a decidedly strange and upsetting circumstance. I'm glad that you were able to avoid getting into trouble... At least for the moment, as you did seem to encounter both Cesare and Lucrezia, who are the children of our mayor, Rodrigo Borgia. Given that she was being threatened by her older brother I... I think Rodrigo and Cesare will likely try not to press any charges - and there is the fact that quite a few people witnessed his... Tantrum, did you call it? Yes, you should be fine. Did you get the names of the officers who helped her get home?"

The young vet nodded, saying "They said their names with were William Johnson and Thomas Hickey - both of them were detectives... I think in your precinct?"

Haytham described his detectives who went by those names - hoping that was so, as those two were very trustworthy, and would  _ ensure _ that she got somewhere safe, rather than returning her to a place where her older brother might be able to get at her, finishing with "Were those the detectives that you saw and spoke to?"

Connor nodded, answering with an honest "Yes, those were the two police detectives that I had spoken with - and they were the ones who'd taken her away... Should I have called you instead? I wanted to but I... I hadn't wanted to interrupt any plans that you had for the evening, yesterday."

"You did well, Connor. Thank you for telling me about this - both of them are very loyal and hardworking, as well as trustworthy." Haytham answered, lightly patting Connor on a shoulder again. The other tugged him closer, and the two of them sat on the couch in slightly awkward silence for several minutes before Haytham murmured "I had wanted to take you out for dinner tonight - though if you'd prefer to stay in and have something here, I would understand entirely."

The younger man hummed for a moment, indulging in the urge to lightly rest his head against one of his father's shoulders. Connor briefly wondered if it would be strange to ask if he could record Haytham just saying things - his father had a wonderfully  _ soothing _ voice and the young man enjoyed listening to Haytham speak. "I enjoy doing things with you, and I'd be happy to go somewhere with you. Did you have a specific place in mind? I just... No more blind dates." Part of him wondered if Ezio enjoyed listening to him tell these stories of suffering and woe - as the other set him up on these either boring or  _ terrible _ dates as he was pretty sure that Ezio wasn't passive-aggressive enough to set him up on awful dates on purpose.

Haytham chuckled and nodded "I enjoy your company quite a bit as well - I am curious... You never did say why you decided to go on those blind dates in the first place?" His father looked genuinely inquisitive. "And I do have a place in mind that we could go to - have you been to the Thai place on fifth and Jamison? It's quite excellent, and if you don't have any objections, I'd be happy to drive the both of us there."

Connor squirmed a little - as admitting the truth would at best make things unspeakably awkward between the two of them... At worst, the other would never want to see or talk to him again - at least not until he'd gotten some professional help, and the young man was fairly sure that he was just a little... Confused. "Ezio likes to try to set Desmond and I up on dates from time to time. At least he did until Desmond started dating Shaun. He does occasionally try to set me up on blind dates and I find it's a bit easier if I tell him that he  _ can _ set me up on a few dates, rather than the other scheming to get me to go on a blind date without me knowing what I'm heading into. I've not been to that Thai place, but I'd love to try it out! I've had some Thai dishes at other places and I know that I enjoy curries quite a bit."

"Very well. Shall we go?" Haytham asked. Connor nodded and the two of them got up and left the older man's house. As they were walking to Haytham's care, he chuckled a little again, bright blue-grey eyes shining with amusement and warmth "I see. I would be happy to hear more about these blind dates of yours, if more happen in the future. I'd also be delighted to hear about any dates that you pursue yourself. You've spoken quite highly of several of your fellow staff members - and I did notice at the barbeque that you were close to both Miss Myriam and Kanen..." the other nudged Connor in one side a little, an inquisitive expression appearing on his face. "Did you date either of them?"

"What? No! Why would I have...? A-Are you teasing me? I've never considered dating either of them. Dad why? Kanen's dating Kadar and has been since Kadar transferred to our high school sophomore year. And Myriam's been dating Norris for about... Three years now?" Connor spluttered, feeling his face go a bright shade of red as he scowled a little at his father - who was grinning at him teasingly.

Haytham was laughing at him again - but there didn't seem to be any malice behind it... Just genuine amusement, and the desire to understand "Very well, I am sorry for flustering you so much, Connor. I hadn't intended to do so."

The young vet huffed silently, looking away from Haytham for a moment as the two of them got into the car, responding with "Alright, thanks for apologizing. Sorry for overreacting a little it's just... We were kinda teased in high school as the three of us were very close. Apparently almost everyone thought that we were dating - and it almost caused Kadar to break up with Kanen, as he was so worried that he was being a  _ homewrecker _ . He was so worried and upset and... Augh. That was  _ years _ ago why is it still so fresh and horrifying still?" Connor mumbled through his hands - as he had buried his face in them as the confusion, embarrassment and horror ran through him all over again.

His father hummed softly, responding after a moment "Such memories tend to stick with us, especially if we don't want them to. I am truly sorry for causing you to relive a memory that upsets you."

Connor smiled a little at that, slowly taking his hands from his face as he watched the scenery go by. It was dusk, but the evening traffic wasn't bad for a Friday night. There were all sorts of people out and about and after a few moments, the younger man murmured "Thanks... And I'm looking forwards to the Thai place." His father acknowledged his words with a quiet hum, focusing on driving mainly. The other's radio played music quietly as Connor continued to watch the scenery go by.

~

The Thai place that Haytham brought him to was  _ gorgeous _ and Connor smiled a little as they got out of the car. It was a warm summer evening, and the sun had yet to set. He joined Haytham as the two of them made their way from the parking lot to the small restaurant that his father had taken him to. It was a cozy place - it was rather small for a restaurant, and there was music playing in the background - and every table in the place was full. People were laughing and chatting over delicious looking and smelling food, the wooden tables and chairs - along with the decorations gave the place a warm atmosphere.

It was almost the polar opposite of the large steakhouse that Ezio had gotten him reservations for yesterday, for which the young man was glad. The server brought the two of them to a small corner table on the second floor, which was slightly less noisy - there were other pairs of people, rather than on the first floor, where a lot of families and larger groups of friends and acquaintances were eating. Connor found the lanterns to be charming, glad that they didn't use candles for mood lighting, as though he wasn't  _ that _ nervous of fire that he couldn't stand a lit candle at the table that he ate at... It would still put a bit of a damper on the evening for the young man hummed along softly to the music as they were seated. The two of them were given menus, and when asked what they wanted to drink, Connor and Haytham both asked for water.

"Would you like to split an appetizer? I've tried almost everything on their menu and all of it is  _ fantastic _ . This is another one of my favorite places to go." Haytham asked quietly.

Connor glanced up at his father and answered after studying the menu for a couple of minutes "I... Everything sounds delicious - could we try the sampler? And I think I'll ask for the green curry for dinner."

"Alright - the sampler allows us to try four of them. Do you have four that you want in particular, or would you like a suggestion?" His father prompted lightly. He knew what he wanted for dinner already as well.

"I know two that I'd definitely like to try - do you want to pick the other two?" Connor asked, before telling Haytham which two of the appetizers that he wanted to try most in the sampler.

A small grin appeared on his father's face at his choices and responded "One of those is my favorite... Hmm... Ah, they have their summer seasonal appetizer this year. I had hoped that they would, but some years they can't get it due to the price."

Connor nodded and both of them folded up their menus, waiting for one of the servers to come back to take their order. He cast about mentally for a topic to talk about, before asking "Have you ever been on a blind date before?"

The smile on his father's face broadened a little, and Haytham responded with "A few, though I haven't dated anyone for a couple of years now. I've been focused on my career, for the most part. Although I haven't had a date go as badly as yours had in quite some time."

"Oh? What do you mean by that? I understand about wanting to focus on your career... I'm trying to focus mainly on my career as well." Connor asked curiously, wondering if his father had any terrible date stories as well.

Haytham hummed a little at his question, answering after a couple of moments "Let me see... The first time your mother and I went on a date... It didn't go all that well. The two of us were nearly arrested, which would have been... Awkward... As I was a rookie detective at the time. The two of us were going on a picnic in Central Park and apparently someone had been murdered close to where the two of us were on our date... But before the investigating detectives could get much further than ominously informing us that we needed to come with them to the station, the real murderer came out of nowhere and nearly stabbed Ziio. I stepped between the two of them, trying to get the knife away from him and she tasered the both of us."

Connor couldn't help but chuckle a little at that... From what he did remember of his mom, she had been a very determined and strong person. He could barely remember her face, except from the handful of pictures that were at his aunt's and grandmother's houses. "I'm glad that the two of you avoided getting arrested... And that neither of you got stabbed."

"So was I. Apart from that it had been a wonderful date... Two weeks later, the two of us were put on the same case. Your mother was an FBI agent, and I was assigned as my precincts liaison. It was a missing person's case, I believe. The two of us worked closely together, and we managed to rescue all of the people who had been kidnapped." His father paused, apparently deciding better about revealing more of the case. "It took us another year and a half to bring everyone who had been involved in the kidnappings down... It was a shock to find out that Captain Braddock had been so deeply involved but I was glad that justice had been served. A few months after that, Ziio realized that she was pregnant with you."

Connor blinked a little in surprise - he had never known how his parents had met... And he hadn't realized that both of his parents had been in law enforcement. It was nice to learn more about his mother, and it was obvious that his father still cared quite a bit for his mother... But why did that cause stirrings of what felt like  _ jealousy _ rather than just happiness? He mentally shook himself and smiled softly "I hadn't known that."

Haytham sighed softly, reaching over and lightly touching the back of one of his hands. He looked like he was about to say something, when one of the servers came back with their waters, asking "What would you like to - ... Connor?"

He blinked a little in surprise and recognition as he remembered a college classmate of his "... Shao Jun... Right? It's me, Connor."

She blinked at him, then at Haytham, smiling a little before murmuring "It's been a while, but sorry for being unprofessional. What is it that the two of you would like to eat? Or do you need a few more minutes?"

Both of them shook their heads at pretty much the same time. Haytham ordered his dinner first, then Connor told her what he wanted, and they also ordered the sampler plate - telling her which four that they wanted. Connor couldn't help but ask "You were studying to become a vet, like me, weren't you?"

Her professional smile dropped a little, and she nodded "I am. I'm working two jobs, as unfortunately the clinic I'm working at only has a part time shift for me. The head of the clinic says that if I stay another six months, he might have something for me but... If you know any places that are looking for a full time vet with a herpetology specialty, please let me know."

Connor's eyes lit up, and he sent his father a slightly apologetic expression - garnering an amused one in response "I do, actually. The animal hospital I'm working at - one of our herpetology specialty vets is going to be going on maternity leave in a little over five months - and I know that Dr. Cormac is trying to find someone who can replace her for that time... I can give you the name of the hospital."

She nodded gratefully, and the young man quickly wrote down the name and number of the hospital and clinic on a napkin, handing it to her. Shao murmured gratefully "Thanks for the tip! I'll definitely check this out. I hope that you and your date have a good night." She bowed slightly to the both of them and left before either of them could correct her false assumption.

Connor was blushing rather darkly at the fact that she thought that they were dating, unable to look at his father as he tried to figure out how to tell her that he was just going out to eat with his dad.

Haytham laughed quietly and murmured "I hadn't realized that you knew her - she's been working here for a couple of years. I hope that she gets that position as well. I've noticed that she's quite bright. How well do you know her?"

His father seemed to say that oddly, and when Connor looked at his father, the other had a bit of a crooked smirk on his face. "We were part of the same educational cohort, and had a lot of the same classes together."

There was a gleam in his father's eyes, and Connor had a suspicion he knew where it was going "Hmm... I see. The two of you might be working together soon. She's rather lovely."

The younger man blinked and tilted his head a little - he supposed that she was, but Connor had also watched as she threatened to poison half their class for trying to hit on her while she was trying to study. "I... Suppose that she is...? She also just got married to Ave... Erm." He realized that he probably shouldn't out her in a public place - specifically, a place where she was working, as there were some who might agitate to get her fired, and Connor didn't want to be accidentally responsible for making her life worse as he'd feel  _ terrible _ for doing so.

"I see. You seem to know quite a few lovely, attractive people but you don't seem all that interested in anyone... Is there a particular reason for that?" His father lightly pressed, sipping his glass of water.

"I just... I'm not really interested in anyone like that? I mean... I understand how people fall in love, and want to... Be physically intimate with a significant partner... Or partners, if they're poly but I just... For the longest time, there hasn't been any one who's really caught my attention... Do you know what I mean?" Connor responded, rolling the full glass of water between his hands as he watched the ice cubes swirl in the glass.

His father lightly touched one of his hands, causing the young man to glance up at him. There was an understanding expression on Haytham's face - as well as a curious one "I do. I've never been one to fall in love - or fall into bed - with someone easily or quickly. Not that there's anything wrong with that... From the way you phrased that... It seems as if there might be someone you're interested in, in a romantic sense... Unless I misunderstood what you said?" His father seemed both intently curious as well as trying to restrain himself from outright asking.

That was a loaded question, not that his father was aware of it. A silent sigh left him and Connor shrugged, finding that he wasn't able to break eye contact with the other, much as he desperately wanted to... To hide what might be burgeoning feelings of illicit want and desire from his incredibly perceptive father. "I... I'm not sure if I am. I've never fallen in love with someone before, so it's not that I know if it's platonic feelings and I just like the  _ idea  _ of falling in love with this person? Or that I might want them because I know that I'd never be able to have this person, so it would be safe to put my... To have those sorts of feelings towards that person because they'd never be with me? I... I'm pretty sure I'm not making any sense. I just... I don't know..." He also really, really did not want to have this conversation right now, lest he end up blurting something out that might not entirely end up being true.

"No, I do understand. Feelings - especially ones of a romantic nature, especially when they're beginning to develop... They are tricky to navigate through, especially if you've never been in love before. I can tell that you're very uncomfortable with this topic, and I'd be happy to go onto something different... If you'd like? I hope that you do know that you can confide anything to me and I won't tell anyone." His father murmured, voice warm and understanding and oh it caused Connor's heart to feel so heavy and light all at once.

"I'd like to talk about something else... I've got a four day weekend - since the fourth is on Tuesday. Dr. Cormac decided to close the clinic for the first two days of next week, and I'm not on call for any emergencies that might arise in the hospital portion of the place. Do you have it off? I've heard that holidays tend to be really busy for people in law enforcement." Connor responded, looking curiously at his father.

"They do - but I do have this weekend and the next two days off as well. I put in a request months ago and was approved." Haytham responded, smiling a little. Their food arrived shortly after that, and the two of them talked and laughed as they enjoyed their dinner, and Connor found that he was very much enjoying the other's company. He also had to resist the temptation to lean across the table and press a kiss to his father's lips as they split a dessert - coconut ice cream. It was sweet and refreshing and the  _ perfect _ ending to the meal, and his father had a bit of the ice cream smeared on his lips.

Instead of ruining their night, Connor lightly remarked on the cream and Haytham made sure to wipe it away with a napkin. The two of them split the bill and the two of them wandered down the stairs and over to Haytham's car, both of them pleasantly full.


	7. Chapter 7

The drive back to Haytham's home was uneventful, and the two of them made their way over to the other's door but... Connor and Haytham were both lingering on the doorstep, and the younger man noted just how  _ beautiful _ a night it was. It was a clear sky, and he was sure that if they were able to get far enough away from the bright lights of the city, that the two of them could count the stars and draw constellations, if they so wished. A soft sigh left the younger man. Tonight would be a good night to do it as well - as it was warm out tonight, but not uncomfortably so.

"You seem a little distracted." His father noted, close enough that the young man could lean in close and lightly press a kiss to the other's lips... If he was so foolish enough to want to ruin such a wonderful evening.

"It's a clear night... I remember going stargazing with my aunt and grandma on nights like this... But it's too bright here to do so." Connor responded with a quiet sigh. He wanted to ask if the other wanted to do so, but wasn't feeling quite bold enough to ask.

Haytham hummed a little before responding with "There is a national park several hours' drive from here... If we drove to that spot, we could count the stars, and the sun will have truly set by then. If you'd like to do so with me."

A bright smile appeared on Connor's face, and the young man nodded eagerly, responding with "I'd love to go stargazing with you tonight... Do you think we should bring a blanket in case it gets chilly before we want to leave?"

"I still have the blanket from our picnic in the car. I was able to retrieve it from the police car that I'd accidentally left it in a couple of months ago, and never quite got around to bringing it back inside." Haytham answered, a small smile appearing on his face.

Connor grinned at that and started to head for the car, eager to be off, and delighted to do something like this with his father "Great! Do you want to go now, or is there something you'd like to do at home first?" He paused in his movements, worried that he was being a bit overeager.

His father chuckled softly, seemingly amused by his exuberant enthusiasm "I am ready to go as well." Haytham paused for a moment, blinking and staring at him as if he just realized something. A small, happy smile appeared on his father's face as the other remarked as the both of them headed to the car "You... This is the first time that you referred to where I live as  _ home _ ... At least in front of me..." There seemed to be a bit of wonder, as well as happiness in the other's voice as well as on his face.

"I... Err... I-Is that a problem? It's just... Being with you has really begun to feel like  _ home _ to me - and this place is... It feels really safe and cozy, especially when you're here too." Connor admitted shyly, feeling himself blush rather darkly, worried that he might have upset the other with the presumption of calling the other's place home. They were still just getting to know one another, after all and he had just gone and -

Haytham was suddenly very close, and had cupped the underside of his chin, forcing the younger man to look at him directly. His father's voice was loving, gentle and firm "Connor, look at me." The other waited until the vet did so before continuing "I am  _ delighted _ that you view my home as yours as well... That you care for and trust me enough to tell me such things. I find that  _ you _ are an important part of my home as well, Connor, and I am glad that you're comfortable enough to tell me such things, rather than leave them unvoiced."

Connor flustered a little, not entirely sure how to respond to his father's words, his heart pounding too loudly in his ears for him to think - so he did what his instincts told him to and hugged Haytham tightly, unable to stop the huge grin from appearing on his face, as he murmured quietly "T-Thank you!"

They hugged until Connor let go of Haytham, his father slowly letting him go as the younger man did. Both of them were smiling serenely and they made their way over to the car, so that they could go stargaze together.

The park that his father had talked about had a forested area, but as the two of them walked up a hill, the forest subsided and the two of them laid out the blanket, before laying down together and looking up at the stars, shifting a little bit closer together for warmth. Perhaps it might have been better if they had a second blanket, but Connor didn't mind being pressed close to Haytham as they gazed up at the stars, drawing constellations and telling stories behind them.

"Altair the eagle is particularly bright tonight." Connor noted, drawing the shape of the eagle in the sky.

"That he is... And the rose of Florence is also particularly lovely tonight as well... They're rather close together. Apparently there are some stories that say that the figures they were named after were angels who were determined to protect humanity from the tyrant gods who once ruled us all in an iron fist. They might have also been lovers - although whether or not any of that has any basis in fact, I cannot say." Haytham remarked lightly.

The two of them continued to share stories about the constellations that they saw, each enjoying being able to keep close together. Connor smiled softly, continuing to cuddle one another. It was a fairly warm night, and the young man was glad to be able to spend it with his beloved father.

~

Connor hadn't realized that he'd fallen asleep while he'd been stargazing with Haytham, and the young man was very briefly confused when he woke up in his bed in his father's place, wondering if he had been dreaming the whole thing... It would certainly explain the thought that he felt as though his father had pressed a light kiss to his lips... But that was likely wishful (and inappropriate) thinking? It was a bit past eight in the morning and he was wearing the clothes he'd been wearing before - so he _had_ fallen asleep next to Haytham while they'd been stargazing?

A wistful smile appeared on his face - he wished that he'd managed to stay awake the whole time... And he was more than a little surprised that his father had decided to carry him all the way back to the other's car, and then from his car to bed, rather than gently shaking him awake. He got up and stretched before making his way over to the kitchen, where his father was already. The young man cheerfully asked "Anything I can do to help with making breakfast?"

Haytham looked up from the frying pan and nodded "I felt like making pancakes and having a fresh fruit compote with it - do you want to cook the pancakes or watch the compote? The bacon is cooking in the oven and should be done in about ten minutes or so."

"I'll stir the compote." Connor responded, coming over and stirring the peach and strawberry mixture, humming a little as he did so. Everything looked and smelled  _ great _ so far. His father's kitchen was a bit small, and the two of them had be almost pressed up against one another to share the stove (as both of them were over six feet tall as well as broad shouldered)... But the young man didn't mind in the least. He liked being close to his father.

Haytham nodded, and the two of them cooked peacefully together for a little while, before the older man asked "Do you have any plans on the fourth, since you have the day off?"

The vet shook his head a little "No I don't have any plans. Years passed Ezio, Desmond and I hung out together, while we were in college, but I think Ezio will be taking the rest of the week off, so he can visit his family back in Italy. He's going to be introducing his boyfriend Leo and his girlfriend Sofia to them. He's excited and kinda nervous. and Desmond's going to be spending the day with his mom. She's a  _ lot _ happier since she cut his dad out of her life, and I think they're planning on going up to Montauk and spending the long weekend at the beach. My aunt and her family are all going to be going to a big family celebration over in... I think it's in Oregon this year? But I have to work the rest of the week and four days isn't really enough time to do much... Do... Do you have any plans for the fourth?" He tried not to get his hopes up that the other would invite him. He knew that his father had the day off, but perhaps the other had something specific he had in mind?

"I see... I was rather hoping that you and I could spend the fourth together - though if you'd prefer to go back to your apartment... I would understand." His father responded, glancing briefly over at Connor, an unreadable expression on his face.

"I'd love to stay over with you! I just... Uhm... I didn't know how to ask and I didn't want to intrude, in case you had something special planned, and if you did, whether or not you wanted to include me in your plans." Connor answered, trying his best to suppress the urge to fidget with his hands, as the compote was at a rather delicate stage at the moment. He scooped up a small spoonful of the not-quite jam and blew on it lightly before tasting it a little. Â "Yum... This is really good - do you think it needs a touch of cinnamon or vanilla - to bring out the peaches? I think it tastes great as is."

He held out the spoon to his father, who lightly blew on the compote himself before tasting it a little himself. Haytham hummed a little before answering "I think it tastes perfect as well."

Connor nodded and took the compote off of the stove. The rest of the pancakes were done just before the bacon needed to be pulled out of the oven. The two of them ate breakfast, discussing what they wanted to do together for the fourth, deciding that they'd rather stay in and enjoy one another's company rather than attend one of the many fourth of July parades or festivals, as neither of them were particularly fond of large crowds of possibly inebriated people.

Later during the day, the two of them walked together to the nearby market, grabbing fresh fruits and veggies - as well as deciding on what meat they wanted to grill.

~

The morning of the fourth of July, found Connor frantically making his father a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for breakfast, as the other changed into his police uniform. The two of them had gotten up at eight - and Haytham had gotten a phone call from his precinct fifteen minutes ago that the captain who was on duty had fallen very ill, and that Haytham needed to fill in for the other - as he was the only other captain who was still in the state who wasn't currently on duty.

Connor rushed to the front door as he heard Haytham clatter around for his keys, doing his level best to keep his eyes on his father's face - rather than stare at the rest of his father - it was  _ unfair _ how the other looked in that uniform, it really, truly was. He had wrapped the lower half of the sandwich in a couple of napkins, to hopefully prevent the jelly from dripping onto the other's uniform, pressing a water bottle into Haytham's hands as well "The weather report said that it's supposed to be  _ ridiculously _ hot today... Stay safe..." Connor murmured.

Haytham nodded and pressed a quick kiss to one of Connor's cheeks, murmuring a grateful "Thank you for the breakfast - and I will do my best to stay hydrated. It's air conditioned at the station - or it usually is, but there have been some power outage issues, due to the heat wave. I should be home by seven tonight, when the night captain comes on duty. See you then, Connor." With that, Haytham rushed out the door, before the younger man could begin to process everything that had just happened.

Connor lightly pressed a couple of fingers against the spot where his father had lightly kissed him, and the young vet wandered over in a daze to the nearby living room couch and collapsed onto it, staring at nothing for a little while as he processed just what had happened. He knew that he shouldn't feel so giddy - it was a light peck on the cheek - a platonic gesture! But his heart was still doing happy little somersaults in his chest the treacherous  _ bastard _ . He had promised himself that he'd shake whatever strangeness he felt for his father, not fall deeper into the  _ strangeness _ that was plaguing his thoughts and his heart.

Ten minutes later, Connor realized that his father didn't have anything to eat for lunch - and while it was possible that his father might be able to get something to eat on his break - all of the local restaurants and even fast food places would be full to bursting with people, which would in turn, slow down how fast that they could get food out to their customers. They had everything here that they had wanted to cook for the barbeque lunch that they'd planned a couple of days ago, so Connor decided that he would make lunch for the both of them, and bring Haytham his. He could use a gas grill, as it didn't have an open flame - rather than a wood or a coal fire grill, which had enough flames to cause the young man to freeze up, or slowed his reaction times to the point where it was a little... Dangerous for him to try to cook over such flames.

Connor made sure to set an alarm on his phone, so that by the time that he'd prepared and cooked everything - as well as giving himself time to get to the station that his father worked at, he would arrive in time for Haytham to be just getting to his lunch break. With that set, he double checked the bus and subway schedules, and deciding that he'd rather just call a cab and be dropped off a couple of blocks from the station to avoid any prodding questions as to why he was headed to a police station. He called the taxi service and arranged to be picked up at the time he needed to go and decided to watch some TV in the meantime, as there wasn't much else for him to do at the moment.

~

Connor walked into the police station that his father was in charge of, bag of carefully wrapped and utterly  _ delicious _ smelling barbeque in hand. He wasn't entirely sure how he was going to get the food  _ to _ Haytham. He had texted the other earlier, telling him that he was coming by with lunch - but his father had yet to text him back. He looked around at the detectives working at their desks, and the young man did spot what seemed to be an office of some kind at the far end of the station. He started to walk towards it, figuring that might be where his father was - on TV and in movies, police captains always had such offices in order to do their work.

Before he could get more than a few steps inside, one of the detectives glanced over at him. The detective got up and made his way over to him - Connor recognized the other as one of the two detectives that he'd spoken with during the Terrible Date that he'd had last week. Detective Hickey smiled at him in a friendly sort of way and asked "Hello again - are you looking for someone? You seem a bit... Lost?"

"Oh, I'm looking for my father. He works here." Connor responded after a moment "He was called in because someone who was supposed to be on shift today fell ill and he had to fill in. He... We were planning on grilling stuff for lunch, so he didn't have anything ready when he was called in... So I made lunch and decided to bring it to him."

The detective smiled a little at that, asking "Not everyone is in at the moment - most of the police officers are out and about town, helping to keep things peaceful - but I can see if he's in. What's your father's name... Connor, was it?"

"Captain Haytham Kenway." Connor responded cheerfully "And yes, my first name is Connor."

"... Oh." The detective responded, blinking at him in mild surprise. The other responded after a rather awkwardly long pause "Well, you're father's in his office - though you might want to wait for a bit. He's speaking to the chief of police. Chief Birch is rather hands on during holidays - and as we're one of the precincts in charge of keeping things peaceful during the fourth of July parade, he's decided to come down here to... Help us."

Connor noted that detective Hickey said that in a rather... Strange way, but before he could ask about that, his father came out of the office - along with the strangely intense man who'd been the leader of the opposing paintball team... Was that the chief of police? It would explain how the two of them had known one another. Haytham looked over at where Connor was standing and smiled a little, coming over and saying "Thank you for bringing me lunch - you didn't have to do so."

Connor ducked his head a little as he handed the food over "I know... But I wanted to!"

His father's smile broadened a little, and Haytham hummed softly, nodding. His father looked as if he was about to say something, when Birch asked, staring at him rather intently "Good afternoon, young man."

It was said pleasantly enough, but there was something... Off-putting about Birch. Maybe it was the way the other's smile didn't quite reach his eyes - or the fact that though the other  _ was _ watching his surroundings and the people around him as if they were all beneath him, somehow. Connor did his best to suppress the urge to hide behind Haytham (which would be childish and  _ strange _ ) and responded with "Good afternoon... Mister...?"

"I am the Chief of the New York City police, and you will address me with the respect that I am due, young man." Birch responded with a slightly haughty sniff. Birch turned to Haytham (who was curiously looking through what Connor had brought him for lunch) and informed him "I will be in your office, coordinating with the officers who are out on duty - do try to keep the boy from causing too much trouble... That potato salad looks delicious. I'll be taking that." He remarked, snatching the plastic container off of the desk that Haytham had just set down and started to stalk off to the captain's office.

Connor's eyes flashed at that - he  _ had _ been polite before, but there was no cause to steal part of someone else's lunch like that. He couldn't help himself when he piped up "I hadn't meant to offend you - but isn't it  _ rude _ to steal part of someone else's lunch? At least it is where I work."

Utter silence filled the station and everyone seemed to be holding their collective breath, waiting for the chief of police to respond to that. Birch just sighed and rolled his eyes, glancing at Haytham "You don't mind if I have some of this, do you? I have sent someone to get me something for lunch, but it is unlikely they will be back any time soon - and I do so enjoy a good potato salad." There was a slight upward tilt of Birch's lips that might be construed as a smile. "Although I... Suppose I should apologize for presuming to take some of your lunch, Haytham."

The police captain blinked rapidly a couple of times, clearly having not expected that reaction at all and didn't seem to be entirely sure how to respond. After a couple of moments, Haytham responded automatically "I don't mind sharing - Connor packed me a rather generous lunch, after all."

Birch nodded and vanished into the captain's office. Hickey sidled up to him, looking genuinely impressed "Holy  _ shit _ . I knew that you were pretty bold - given how you were during the fight between the Borgia siblings but-"

"Thomas, there's no need to be overdramatic." His father lightly chided, sending the other a censuring stare, before shaking his head a little. "Besides, Connor here is actually rather shy... I know that you just don't abide rudeness - perceived or actual."

With Birch gone, several of the other detectives got up from their desks and headed closer to the two of them, seemingly very curious about Connor - who was starting to feel just a little bit intimidating at being watched so intently by a couple dozen police detectives, and moved a bit closer to his father. "I'm not shy.' he objected, knowing that his actions didn't lend much truth to his words "Just... Introverted. And it was rude of him to steal part of your lunch."

His father chuckled softly at the small scowl on Connor's face and responded with "I would like you to meet the detectives who work under my command." Haytham reached out for him and the two of them had shared a light, one armed hug as the older Kenway introduced him to the police detectives who were watching the two of them curiously.


	8. Chapter 8

Several months passed, and fall was upon the city once again - and with it a rush of pet owners bringing in their animals to be checked over, just before school started - or during school hours, so as not to worry their children. Connor had gone on a couple more blind dates, but had decided that... Whatever his feelings for his father were, they wouldn't be solved by trying to run away from them... That and though the people who Ezio had set him up with were interesting in and of themselves... None of them really caught his interest in a romantic sense.

He was still regularly visiting his father on the weekends, and on one rainy afternoon, Haytham cleared his throat a little as he closed his laptop, walking over to where Connor was sitting and said "I... I would like to speak with you about something, Connor."

The young vet nodded, closing his own laptop and looking up at the other. His father looked...  _ Worried _ . A small frown appeared on his face as he asked quietly "Yes, what is it?"

His father pulled out a chair as if he was going to sit down, stared at it for a moment before shaking his head a little and stayed standing. He cleared his throat again "I... There is something that I have been investigating for a long time. For over... Over twenty years now. Your mother and I had started this project and after she... After she died I... For Â time I couldn't even touch it, grieving for her and battling your aunt for custody over you... Which I lost, as the courts decided that she had a more stable home - as she was married at the time, and worked as a librarian, and I was a single cop, and your mother and I hadn't even been engaged." Haytham was pacing back and forth as he spoke, agitated and nervous.

"I... O-Okay?" Connor responded - he hadn't known the reasons why he'd gone to live with his aunt, rather than his father until now - and he wondered just what this project was, that had his father so anxious.

"I feel as if I'm getting close to the truth of the matter. Things are... Things are getting more complicated, and a good deal more  _ dangerous _ as well. I..." Haytham stared at him for a long moment, as if trying to decide something "I... I don't want to put you in danger, by telling you about the information that I've uncovered but... There is also a chance that... That you might be targeted. You go by your mother's name but..." Haytham seemed to lose his voice again, staring at the table, lost in thought - or perhaps in memories.

As his father made another lap around the table, Connor grabbed the other's hands impulsively, hoping to still Haytham for a couple of moments. He rubbed soothing circles into the back of the other's hand, and earnestly responded with "You've found out some dangerous information, and you're trying to figure out whether or not it would be more dangerous if I knew or not... Are you asking me to be more careful, in case whatever it is that you and... And mom were investigating starts to cause trouble?"

Haytham nodded, having frozen at Connor's touch. His father looked him directly in the eyes as he asked "What did your aunt tell you about the fire that killed Ziio?"

"She said that it was an accident - that someone fell asleep smoking and the building caught fire - it was an old building, so the sprinklers weren't working like they were supposed to... Why?" Connor responded, his heart sinking a little, worried as to where this was going.

His father shook his head "So she  _ did _ maintain that lie. No - someone deliberately set fire to the building, after sabotaging the sprinklers and the fire alarms, so that more people would die. It was kept quiet, as your mother had also received several anonymous death threats, trying to get her to drop the project that she and I had been working on. We persisted and she..." Haytham swallowed dryly, tears sliding down his face "She was killed for it. For searching for the truth of the matter."

Shock and numb disbelief spread through the young man - but why would Haytham lie to him about this? Besides... His aunt disliked handling difficult truths, preferring to hide behind comforting lies. Connor stood up and pulled his father into a tight hug, shaking a little and feeling tears prickle at the corner of his own eyes "I... I see. And you're getting close to the end of this project?"

"Yes... The... The one that claimed her life." Haytham responded, his arms slowly coming up and hugging Connor back tightly "Tread carefully and if you suspect that you are being followed, call  _ me directly on my cell phone, _ no matter where you are - no matter what time of the day or night that it is. I will either come with you, or Thomas or Johnson will come and pick you up. If another police officer comes to try to take you to me  _ do not go with them _ unless they have a written note from me. I'm not sure how widespread or how deep this goes  _ yet _ but I'm getting close. Those two have been working the case with me and I know that they're on the level."

Connor nodded, hugging the other tighter, having a suspicion that his father might be looking into a police corruption case - or something close to it. Rather than voicing his suspicions, the young man nodded and murmured "I promise I'll be careful and to do as you say. Should I warn Ezio and Desmond to be extra careful as well?"

Haytham nodded "Probably - they are your roommates, and they might try to get to you through them."

"A-Alright. I'll be sure to warn them about this." Connor promised, still holding onto his father tightly. After a couple of moments, he slowly let go of his father. Neither of them seemed to want to talk, and Connor asked quietly "If you want to tell me more about this project, I will listen and won't tell a soul - unless you tell me to, and then only the person or people you tell me to. Otherwise... I heard there's supposed to be a Sherri Trotter marathon all this weekend - we could tune in to watch one of the movies."

"Is that the movie series based on a book series about a young druidess who is learning how to control her abilities and fighting a terrible evil of some sort?" Haytham asked lightly.

"It is... I remember reading  _ all _ of that series as a kid, and the movies are actually really close to the books' canon, which still makes me happy." Connor responded, a bright smile appearing on his face. He had a lot of fond childhood memories associated with those books.

His father chuckled softly and murmured "Then by all means - I'd love to watch the series again. I'll pop some popcorn, if you'll find the channel that it's running on and a blanket for the two of us to share?"

"Sounds like a plan!" Connor responded cheerfully and the two of them set about their quick tasks before settling in on the couch, leaning against one another. They were in luck - they tuned in just as the second movie was starting to play.

~

After the weekend that his father had confided in him, Connor quietly warned his roommates of the potential danger that they were in, and to be on the lookout for anyone strange - or if they felt as though they were being followed. Both Ezio and Desmond asked him if he knew more about what it was that his father was working on that was so dangerous, but Connor could only shake his head and shrug. He didn't have anything concrete - but from what his father had told him - and from what the other had implied from what he should and should stay away from - Haytham was possibly leading an internal investigation of sorts. Both of his friends expressed their concerns and promised to watch their steps carefully - as well as keep an eye out for anything strange.

The young vet was walking home from work, when a familiar voice called out from behind him "RatonhnhakÃ©:ton! How are you doing?"

Connor turned around, blinking in surprise as he walked towards one of his two closest childhood friends - very much surprised to see Kanen'tÃ³:kon back here in New York City, but was very glad to see the other again. "Kanen! How long have you been in New York? How long are you going to be staying?"

His friend smiled warmly, explaining cheerfully "I moved up here a little over two weeks ago. I graduated from the paramedic program that I'd been going through several months ago and I've been applying to different places since then. I was hired by one of the fire stations here and they helped me move out here. Kadar is still going through his undergrads to art school, but one of the really prestigious places here in NYC is really interested in him coming to learn with them, so he'll be joining me here in another couple of months!"

"Congratulations! Why didn't you tell me that you were coming here - or that you'd graduated, when you were here visiting for my birthday?" The young vet asked, lightly poking his friend a little and playfully scowling at him a bit.

"Well... I had just gone through all of the exams in April, and I wasn't sure if I'd passed all of them... I felt as though I'd struggled through several of them... Enough that I was worried that I Â was going to have to retake some of the courses." Kanen admitted, fidgeting with his hands a little. "But I passed everything with  _ flying _ colors... It just... the fire stations close to home have all of the members that they need, and besides... I got a bit of a taste of what big city life is like, and I can understand why you moved here... Despite how  _ busy _ this city is all of the time it's... It's got some breathing room that you can't find back home."

Connor nodded in understanding, a small smile appearing on his face as he responded "I'm glad that you did really well on your tests - I kept telling you not to doubt yourself on tests. Even though they might be hard, doesn't mean that you won't pass."

His friend sighed before nodding a little "I know... It's just... It's sometimes hard not to listen to the negative voice inside of myself sometimes. How are you getting along with your dad?"

"Really well, actually! I'm really glad that we've been able to connect better. We still hang out every other weekend and usually don't get one another's nerves too much. Occasionally we'll argue - but I figured out where I got my love of debating from..." Connor responded, a small smile appearing on his face - he remembered out arguing several of his friends while they'd been practicing for class in high school.

So did Kanen, if the face that his friend made was any indication "I'm guessing that you get it from your dad? I'm glad that you found someone who can keep up with you. You've always been really clever - I'm pretty sure that most of our teachers had bets on whether or not you'd become a rocket scientist or a brain surgeon or something like that... Despite the fact that you've been saying since you were six you were going to be a veterinarian."

Before Connor could respond to that - A tall, broad shouldered person came rushing over to them, in a bulky fire fighter's uniform. They looked directly at Kanen, clearing their throat, and spoke in a low, urgent tone of voice "I know that you've just gotten off shift, but we've been getting reports of over a  _ dozen _ fires in densely populated areas, and we need all hands on deck - will you please come with me, Kanen so that we can get this under control?"

Kanen'tÃ³:kon nodded, responding with a "Yes ma'am!" He turned briefly to Connor "We'll catch up later! Stay safe, Raton!" With that, his friend left with the other firefighter, moving with swift, purposeful steps, but not outright breaking into a run - which might alarm people around them.

The young man continued to walk towards his apartment, freezing for a moment as he heard sirens screaming behind him, as a fire truck sped past him, the cars diving to both sides to allow the emergency vehicle passage to where it was going.

A deep sense of foreboding and terror took hold of the young man, and as he rushed home, he found that there was a thick crowd of people - many of whom were coughing and looking smoke tinged. Connor looked further down the street, to where his apartment building stood, his heart seizing in his chest as one of his worst fears was coming to life once again. Fire crackled and burned as thick black smoke rose steadily from several of the windows, and off of the top of the building.

The young man's hands shook as he frantically went through his pockets, looking for his phone as he tried to remember whether or not his friends would be still at work today. With trembling fingers he frantically scrolled through his phone, finding Desmond's number first and calling him... Only to get the other's voice message. All Connor could think of to say was "Call me as soon as you get this.  _ Please _ . Something... Something terrible has happened and I need to know if you're alright."

It took him several moments to focus - the horrible, all-consuming fire was looming over him, devouring the building and glowing with a sinister orange-red glow. The smoke in the air made it difficult for the young man to breathe and Connor forced himself to turn away from the flames as he called Ezio. The other's phone rang... and rang... And rung once more.

The Italian picked up on the fourth ring, sounding confused and slightly hurried "Hello Connor - what is it?"

"Apartment. On fire. Where are you?" The young man managed out, voice strangled with anxiety and worry.

"I'm at work - I have about a half hour left - we had someone call for a large catering order - and they want it all by Thursday, so we've been trying desperately to get everything done... Desmond said that he'd be working a bit late today as well, remember? Connor... Connor are you safe? Where are you?" Ezio responded, sounding shocked and worried.

"Near the apartment - they've got it blocked off, so that people won't go too close. I'm in the group of people nearby." Connor responded, having closed his eyes and tried to imagine that he wasn't several blocks away from a raging inferno that might have claimed several lives already - or was in the process of claiming lives.

"Alright I -" Ezio stopped talking as something went  _ clang _ on the Italian's side of the conversation. The other sounded about as stunned as Connor was feeling "I have to go. Everything is fine here, but I have to go back to work. Head somewhere a bit safer and wait for us there - maybe go to Stephane's? It's been awhile since the three of us ate out together, si?"

The young man stuttered out an "I-I'll try." and allowed his friend to hang up. He pocketed his phone, finding himself slowly turning around to stare in wide-eyed fear at the fire that was still raging through the building. Much as the young man tried to move, Connor found that he seemed to be trapped where he was currently standing.

~

Connor did his best to only occasionally watch as the firefighters continued to battle the blaze - as trying to watch for a while caused a heavy weight to settle on the young man's chest, and his vision to swim a little, so the vet knew better than to take more than quick peeks at what was going on. He knew that he should  _ leave _ and get going to Stephane's but... For some reason, it took the young man quite a while to muster up the will to be able to move away from the blaze. The little French bistro was open, as always and there were a  _ lot _ of people there... many of them also lived in the same apartment complex that Connor did. Despite being packed to the brim, the small restaurant was almost completely silent - save for the music quietly playing in the speakers, and the occasional words that the servers had with their customers.

The young man decided to take an outside table - as one of the two person tables had just come available and it would be rude to take a larger table, given that he didn't know how soon either of his roommates would be coming here from work, and the young man did his best not to stare at the sky - at least towards where he used to live, as there was still smoke drifting upwards from where the apartment building was. Connor's mind was still reeling from the shock of finding out what was happening to his home (one of them...) when his phone rang again. He didn't recognize the number, but he answered it with a cautious "Hello?"

"Connor? Oh thank goodness - Desmond left me your cell phone number in case of an emergency and I wasn't able to reach him. If you can't recognize my voice, I'm Mira- his mother. I heard that they shut down a section of the city, over where the three of you live because there's an apartment fire that they're trying to get under control... Are you three okay?" Mira prompted, her voice filled with worry and concern.

"I'm fine - Desmond and Ezio are both at work - though I was able to reach Ezio to tell him the bad news. Desmond usually keeps his phone off while he's at work because the place he works for is pretty strict about that sort of thing." Connor responded, trying to sound as confident and soothing as possible - though he had been telling her the truth as he knew it. "And... Yeah, the apartment building that we were all living in somehow caught on fire. I don't think that... That they've managed to put it out yet, I can still see smoke from where I'm at."

"I... I see. I just finished the case I was hired to work. I'll stop by Desmond's work to double check to make sure that he's alright. You two are also very much welcome to stay over here with me, while you figure out where you're going to live... If the damage from the fire in the apartment building is bad enough that it will take them some time to repair it." Mira offered.

"I... T-thanks. I'll keep that in mind and pass along the information to Ezio." Connor responded, having not thought of where the  _ hell _ he was going to stay now. "Someone else is trying to call me - I think it's one of Ezio's partners..."

"I'll hang up now, so that you can reassure them as well. Thank you for answering the phone." The defense attorney responded, before hanging up.

Connor spoke with an anxious Leo and Sofia - apparently the young artist had been commissioned to paint a mural at the library that Sofia was working at, and the two of them had heard the news bulletin about the apartment fires, and wanted to know if all three of them were alright. The young man answered their questions to the best of his abilities, and both of them were much calmer. They ended the call by offering to let all three of them stay at the place that the two of them were sharing, and Connor thanked them quietly, promising to share the news with the other two, when he saw them again later today.

The young man couldn't help but stare at the column of rising smoke - despite the fact that he desperately tried to look anywhere but, as though the smoke slowly started to get smaller, and eventually dissipated, Connor was struggling to keep calm. His friends were fine - their loved ones were fine but... Had everyone in the building made it out of the blaze alright? He also hoped that none of the firefighters had gotten hurt either -as he had heard that could happen, and that would be  _ awful _ as well.

His thoughts continued to churn around and around chaotically, and the soda and sandwich that he'd ordered in order to be able to stay seated at the table he was at didn't taste like much - ash that had long since left his lungs were trying to clog his throat, and thick black clouds of smoke that weren't there continued to sting the young man's eyes.

A warm hand suddenly landed on one of Connor's shoulders, and the young vet nearly leapt out of his skin, a yelp about to leave him as he looked up to see who had touched him. Standing close by and staring down at him with a worried frown on his face, was his father, wearing his police uniform. "Connor, are you having a panic attack?"

"I... Maybe a little. I've been trying to calm myself down but it... It's... It's not working too well." Connor admitted quietly, as his voice wouldn't go above a hoarse whisper.

His father nodded, asking "Have you paid for your meal?"

"Yes, I have...? There are a lot of people, so Stephane's asked that we pay before we get our food..." The young man answered absently, wondering why his father was asking such things.

"Come home with me - to  _ my _ home. You'll need a place to sleep - at least for tonight." Haytham instructed, trying to gently encourage Connor to get up.

"I promised Ezio and Desmond that I would wait here for them..." The young man responded, having caught a wisp of smoke rising from far away and yet all too close.

"I've spoken with Desmond's mother - she just picked up her son and Ezio - who had been planning on meeting you. They've tried calling you three times and you haven't answered. They called me and I couldn't reach you either." Haytham responded.

"I... What?" Connor responded, waking out of the daze he was in and looking down at his phone - and sure enough, it was  _ several _ hours later and he had missed almost a dozen phone calls "I... I don't know what happened..."

His father's voice was gentle, but firm "You've been trying to battle a panic attack, and it's been taking up all of your concentration to do so. Your friends are safe, please come with me?"

"I... Alright, rake:ni..." Connor responded as he got up, drifting behind his father - who was holding onto one of his elbows as the other guided him to the other's car. Once they reached Haytham's car, Connor was feeling calm enough to hug his father tightly, burying his face in the other's chest, and the young man  _ shook  _ for a while.

Haytham murmured softly, holding him just as tightly, occasionally petting the younger man's hair. When Connor was feeling calmer, he slowly let go of Haytham and mumbled "Sorry for going to pieces on you like that... 's go home..."

"Connor, you don't have to apologize. You've been through quite a bit, and I... I can understand some of the terror and worry that you must have gone through, while you tried to figure out if your friends were safe." Haytham responded, voice still in that gentle-but-firm tone of voice.

Connor nodded absently "... I think I'll have to call in sick tomorrow. I... I'm not sure I'll be up to doing much."

"That sounds reasonable - do you want me to call the clinic and tell them for you, or do you want to handle that conversation yourself?" Haytham asked, as the other drove him home. The other's voice wasn't condescending or exasperated - just concerned and supportive.

** Connor found it nice - as he knew that  _ some _ had found his.... Aversion to fire to be either irritating or  _ funny _ . As if waving a lighter under his face while several of your idiot friends held him in place was the most entertaining thing that you could do. Not that those  _ morons _ did that more than  _ once _ . "I... I'll call the clinic." The young man stared, glassy-eyed at his phone, trying to come up with the mental strength to call the clinic. It was a twenty-four hour place (or at least the hospital part of it was) so he would be able to reach someone - even though it was nine in the evening. Taking in a deep, steadying breath and glancing over at his father for a bit of strength, Connor called his work, lifting the phone to an ear.   
**


	9. Chapter 9

Several weeks passed since the apartment building Connor used to live in turned into a burned out husk. He'd been living with his father since then, and the young man was only just starting to try to find an apartment a decent distance away from where he lived, within a budget that he could afford - even though he knew that it was likely that he would have to have roommates again - and he would be delighted if he was roommates with Ezio and Desmond again. Haytham didn't seem to mind that he had come to live with the other in the least, and while the young man delighted in being able to see more of his father, Connor had also come to the conclusion that if he lived with his dad permanently... Well the strange feelings that he felt for his father had become  _ readily _ apparent to the vet.

He was starting to fall in love with his own  _ father _ and seeing and being able to talk with the other every day... As grounding as the other's presence had been in the first week after the flames had taken quite a bit away from him, Connor was very worried that he might slip up and say something that might reveal that he had distinctly non-familial feelings for Haytham - and the last thing that Connor wanted to do was to lose the burgeoning relationship that Â the two of them were developing, because he couldn't contain himself. He was more careful at work, as occasionally one of his coworkers would talk about the fires that had happened in a half-dozen heavily populated areas, and his pyrophobia would cause his hands to shake and his concentration to wane... Which was why he did everything with a deliberate care.

Connor had  _ tried _ to ask them not to talk about the fires around him, but each time he started to talk about it, the young man found that his voice failed him - and that his throat had constricted painfully, which caused the vet to retreat to his office to do paperwork until he was calm enough to be somewhat sociable enough.

The young man was currently at work, and today so far, had been quite  _ slow _ ... But given the fact that it was one pm on a Wednesday, Connor wasn't entirely surprised that they had more than a little bit of time to wait. One of the front office staff was on a news site, and remarked to both him and the other member of the front office staff "Hey - it's saying here that the fires that were set off three weeks ago was  _ arson _ rather than a series of accidental fires... And apparently the things used to set off the fires during the fires three weeks ago were the same ones - and in the same way that killed all those people in the Crystal Springs apartment complex like twenty years ago."

"Didn't a federal agent die in the fire last time, or something like that? There was a big fuss about it, but the culprit hadn't been caught. Thank goodness this time most of the people who lived in those buildings were at work, or just going home this time. A lot of people died, when the arsonist killed people twenty years ago... Oh, Dr. Hill wasn't your apartment building one of the ones that was destroyed a couple of weeks ago?" The other office staff member remarked, looking over and realizing that Connor was watching the two of them.

Connor froze up at their words, not even  _ hearing _ the second question. Not at first - their casual conversation about  _ arson _ had caused him to think of some dark memories:

_ He woke up coughing - specifically he had coughed so hard that he'd somehow fallen off of bed, and had hit the floor. The young boy groaned unhappily as he looked around, squinting. It was difficult to see much of anything - it was hazy and far too warm in his room, but as he didn't have a window in his room... Not that the four year old could reach it if he tried, the young boy got out of his room, to go find his mom... There was a flickering light at the far end of the apartment, from where the apartment lead out into the hallway that lead elsewhere. There was also something like smoke coming through the crack in the door, and Connor realized that it must be fire. _

_ Dark brown eyes widened in fear at that, and he rushed to his mom's room, panicking a little as he felt how hot the door to her room was. He'd been taught some fire safety, but he could also hear ista coughing in her bedroom, and just  _ **_leaving_ ** _ her there wasn't something that the little boy was capable of. With the brash determination that only children could muster, he opened the door to his mom's room, freezing on the spot as he saw the walls and ceiling wreathed in flames. _

_ His mom stared at him, shouting "RatonhnhakÃ©:ton! Leave now! I will be right behind you!" _

_ RatonhnhakÃ©:ton didn't want to leave - especially as part of the ceiling gave way, trapping his mother's legs beneath it. _

_ "Ista!" RatonhnhakÃ©:ton cried as he rushed closer towards her, covering his hands in his pajama shirt and trying to push it off of her, shoving with all of his strength, despite the fact that his hands hurt and the smoke was causing him to cough harder. "Ista!" _

_ Strong hands wrapped around his waist and the little boy struggled and twisted, looking up into the face of a firefighter, begging them "Please! S-save my mother!" Hoping that he was speaking in English - he knew both English and Mohawk equally well, but tended towards the second when stressed. _

"-nor are you alright?" Dr. Cormac asked, having appeared suddenly out of nowhere, causing the younger vet to blink a little in surprise.

Connor would have stepped back, but Dr. Cormac was still shaking him a little on one shoulder. The younger vet could feel himself start to blush a little, as he started to rub his left hand with his right, as it was aching again. It had been years since he had a flashback this badly. It seemed as though what had happened three weeks ago had re-awoken certain demons that the young vet had desperately hoped had been laid to rest. "I... I'm fine, why do you ask?" Connor lied.

Dr. Cormac stared at him for several long moments before responding bluntly "Because I've been trying to get your attention for the past five minutes - and you looked and sounded like you were headed for a panic attack, if you weren't in the middle of one already. Come with me, lad."

Connor nodded, following the other as Dr. Cormac took him to his office, gesturing for the younger man to sit down as he closed the door. "You know that I care for the welfare of everyone who works for me, and I know that saying that you are  _ uncomfortable _ when people talk about the recent fires is a gross understatement, yes?"

Connor nodded, not trusting himself to speak, wondering silently where this was going. He did force him to speak, as the silence stretched between them uncomfortably for several long minutes "I... Yes. I... I do not like fire _at_ _all_."

"I'm not going to ask why. What I am going to ask, is if you'd rather they not discuss it while you're here working." Dr. Cormac responded, voice gentle and warm - it sounded close to the same tone of voice he used to coax frightened animals from their cages so that they could be checked on.

Connor was unsure as to whether or not he should feel insulted that his boss felt the need to use that tone of voice... Or grateful that the other had so quickly spotted how  _ deeply _ distressed he was about all of this. He cleared his throat, tried to speak, and found that he couldn't. He cleared his throat a couple more times before answering with a quiet "I... I would be grateful if they didn't talk about it. I know that some of them find.. F-find this news to be i-interesting but I don't. N-not at all."

Dr. Cormac nodded in understanding, saying "I will tell the staff not to talk about the recent fires, then. Not that they really should be discussing such things at work outside of the break room, anyways."

"Th-thank you, sir." The younger vet responded, giving Shay a shaky smile, breathing out an entirely unsubtle sigh of relief.

Dr. Cormac nodded, looking as though he wanted to ask something, before thinking better of it. "Now, I'd like to share with you something that's a lot happier, Connor."

"Oh, what is it?" The young man asked, curious as to what the other was about to say.

"You've been working here with us for six months, congratulations, Connor. You've been a wonderful addition to the team so far, and I am sure that you will continue to be so." His boss responded with a warm smile. Dr. Cormac talked with Connor until the younger vet was much calmer, for which he was very grateful.

~

Another three weeks, and Connor was quietly listening to the radio station that he could stream on his phone - having known that it was going to talk about how the Arson investigation was going. From the way the announcer was speaking, as with the Arson crime that had claimed the lives of dozens of people - including his mother - none of the detectives on the case could find any clues as to  _ who _ had set the fires this time... And neither could they definitely say whether or not these series of fires had been one arsonist acting alone, or a group of lunatics working together to cause misery and pain of those around them. It was frustrating and upsetting to hear that, but the young vet switched to a music streaming station, and allowed himself to calm down.

By the time he reached his dad's place, Connor was calm. He noted that his father had gotten home before him - which was kind of unusual, as though they got off of work at the same time, Connor's work was still closer than the police station that Haytham captained. The young man hummed along to the last song that he'd heard, having just taken off the ear buds he'd been wearing as he made his way into the house, closing and locking the door behind him automatically, hearing his father's voice - not distinct words, Haytham was speaking too quietly for that, but he could hear that the other was speaking. He called out "I'm home!" So that his father knew it was him, rather than anyone else the other might be expecting.

The young vet made his way over to the dining room table, where his father, Detectives Johnson and Hickey and Captain Pitcairn (the captain who had fallen ill on the fourth of July) were sitting. All four of them were leaned over the table, with serious and rather intense expressions on their faces. Connor frowned a little, but knew better than to ask. This was the third time in three weeks that this had happened.

All four of them went quiet and glanced up at him, with his father nodding and sending him a small half-smile "Good evening, Connor. How was your day at work?"

"It went really well. I had a snake come in at about ten in the morning - boa constrictor that was as long as I was tall. Her owner was concerned as to why she was getting chubbier than usual and wanted her checked out." The vet responded as he walked over to the four of them, smiling back at his father. "Turns out she's pregnant. Her owner was  _ thrilled _ as he was hoping that she'd get pregnant soon. the owner's been researching how to be an ethical breeder and knows their stuff - it's really impressive. Unfortunately she escaped while I was examining her and went back into the main atrium. She scared about a half dozen kids before I was able to catch her and her owner kept apologizing. How was your day?"

"My day went well - although I haven't done anything as exciting as chasing a large snake. We have some unexpected but welcome visitors tonight." Haytham responded, gesturing to the other three police officers. It was almost the exact same thing that Haytham had said the previous two times that they'd been here.

Connor nodded, he had accidentally caught a little about what they'd been talking about the first time that the four of them had been meeting here, and from what he could tell, they were discussing about The Project that his father had talked to him about two months ago. The one that had likely gotten his mother killed. He hadn't asked the question that burned in his mind yet, as he could tell that The Project was a  _ large _ source of stress for his father, and Haytham clearly didn't want him involved in whatever it was that he was working on secretly with these three. "Alright - are they staying for dinner? I can get started while the four of you continue talking about whatever."

Haytham glanced over at the other three, humming a little "Dinner does sound wonderful - is there anything in particular that the three of you might want? Connor here is an  _ excellent _ cook." His father said that with a hint of pride.

Connor couldn't help but blush the tiniest bit at the praise, his heart fluttering a little and - he really needed to get a little bit of space and breathing room from his father. this awful crush was getting entirely out of hand - but the only apartments he could find that would take his references that were within his budget were over an hour and a half away from his workplace by train and bus, and while he could technically get a car, the young man didn't want to deal with all of the headaches of getting and maintaining a car that came with it - as well as worrying as to whether or not it might get broken into and stolen - or his tires taken... Any number of things could happen to a car in a city this large, which was one of the reasons why he was completely content to not own one. "D-dad..." He mumbled, fidgeting with his hands a little.

"It's true though. You are a wonderful chef, and I am glad that you have come to stay with me." Haytham responded, voice warm and loving as the other got up and moved a bit closer. The other lightly patted Connor on one shoulder, chuckling softly, apparently amused for some reason.

When Connor lightly glanced at the table, all three of his father's colleagues were smiling a little, which caused the young man to fluster a little and shift a bit so that he was partially but not entirely hiding behind his father... Unfortunately this just caused all four of the police officers to chuckle and smile a bit wider. Connor mumbled a shy "T...Thanks dad...I'm glad that you've been letting me stay here, too. I... I have been trying to look for an apartment or something, but nothing's available that isn't really expensive, or two hours away from work, at minimum."

"You are welcome. Connor - if you would please look at me for a moment?" His father asked, and when the younger man did so, Haytham looked at him steadily in the eyes and said "I would be delighted if you continued to stay here - if you like, we can work out a rental agreement later, but I like having you here, and unless you have any objections living with me, I would be happy to continue to let you stay here." His father seemed a little... Uncertain in his offer. Not that he didn't want Connor to stay but that... Was the other worried that the younger man wasn't enjoying living here?

Connor really hoped that he hadn't given the other this impression - it was the fact that he was enjoying being here with Haytham a little too much that Connor was worried that he should leave. He'd dreamed yesterday of kissing the other, and this time instead of being a little startled by it, all he felt was a wistful sort of longing. "I'd be delighted to stay here! I just... I wasn't sure if you were just letting me stay here until I found a different place and wasn't trying to be rude about it? I really like living here with you, too. It's nice being able to talk with you every day."

The smile on Haytham's face sent butterflies dancing through Connor's stomach and made his mouth go dry. His father murmured "That's wonderful to hear, Connor."

Captain Pitcairn cleared his throat after a couple of moments, saying "If no one else has any objections to what I'm suggesting - I would be delighted if Connor made us spaghetti for dinner? And perhaps garlic bread as well?"

"That sounds fine to me." The two detectives said. All three of them were still smiling at the two of them. Connor wasn't still partially hiding behind his father because he was feeling shy - as that would be ridiculous and the tiniest bit childish. No, he was just... Standing a little bit closer to the kitchen, so that when they decided that what they wanted to eat, he would go off to make it, while they continued their mysterious meeting - that was all that was going on... Or at least, that was the story that the young man was going to stick with, and nothing that any of them could disprove.

Connor nodded and started to head off, when Hickey asked "Are the two of you going to decorate for Halloween? It's next week."

The young vet shrugged a little - he did enjoy the holiday, but he wasn't as crazy for it as some of his coworkers were "I'd like to, what do you think, rake:ni?"

Haytham hummed a little "I was going to ask if you liked the holiday this weekend - and I do have some things that we could decorate with in storage, in the garage."

The vet nodded and set off for the kitchen, pausing at the door to ask "Are any of Â you allergic to anything? Err - food wise, I mean?" All four of them shook their heads and Connor nodded, heading off to the kitchen to cook.

~

During the weekend that they'd decorated Haytham's place for Halloween (which was several days after his father had asked if he wanted to do anything for the holiday), the other had mentioned that there was going to be a costume party that was being hosted by his station - apparently every year, they threw a Halloween party, but the station hosted changed from year to year, and this year, their station was assigned to it. Haytham had asked if Connor wanted to attend - to which the young man had said yes - less because he wanted to go to a party (he liked handing out candy to trick or treaters, rather than going to Halloween parties) and more because his father had looked at him rather hopefully.

It took Connor several days to figure out what he wanted to go as. There was a dress code for the party - nothing  _ too _ revealing as it was a police function (although why anyone would want to wear what basically looked like lingerie to a public party, the young vet couldn't fathom) but his costume didn't go anywhere near that sort of concerning territory. It took him several trips to three different costume stores to find everything that he needed for it- as the young man was going for a very specific look. As all of the store-made facsimiles of a golden crown of laurel leaves looked  _ tacky _ in the young man's opinion, Connor opted to create his own - sewing the leaves together into a crown and spray painting them gold and letting it dry. He had completed that last task yesterday.

The party was in a little over an hour, and the young man  _ knew _ that they needed to go soon, but Connor was having a little bit of difficulties getting the leather pauldrons to sit correctly on his shoulders - although that might be because of the white cotton tunic he was wearing underneath it kept shifting beneath it. A frustrated sigh left the vet as he came out of his room, double checking to make sure that his sandals were tied correctly. Huffing a little, the young man readjusted the scabbard on the wide leather belt that he was wearing, satisfied that it would stay correctly. It'd taken Â him a couple of tries to find a decent-looking replica of a roman sword, but he liked the way this one looked - and that it came with a scabbard so that he didn't have to wander around all the time carrying it in his hands. Connor almost left without putting on the crown of laurel leaves, but the young man grabbed it on the double check of his room.

He stepped out into the main hall, still fidgeting with the pauldrons a little. He did like the feel of the leather bracers on his arms, and the cape that he was wearing caused the vet to feel just a little bit badass. "I'm almost done with my costume - though I might have to leave some of it behind - I just can't get part of it to work corre-..."

Connor stopped dead in his tracks as his father turned around, a cape of his own swishing behind him. The other was in a deep, navy blue suit. he was also wearing a black and navy blue cape with gold accents - including a gold clasp that fastened together just below his neck. Haytham grinned at him, sporting tasteful looking vampire fangs. The young man could feel himself blushing darkly as his father moved closer - and Connor noted that the other was wearing several rings on both of his hands - including a ring with a flanged cross. The other was also wearing a gold chain with a larger blood red, oddly flanged cross. It looked familiar, and after a couple of moments, Connor realized that his father was dressed as one of the Vampire lords on The Spade and Cross... And Haytham looked  _ incredible _ in the outfit.

Haytham moved purposefully towards Connor, looking him over and humming a little before saying "I admit I was very curious as to what you were searching for with such determination... I must say you do look  _ stunning _ in this outfit, Connor. Here, let me help with the... I think these are pauldrons?" His father moved closer still, as his hands carefully tied the pauldrons to Connor's shoulders...

The other's fingers were warm as they were pressed against Connor's skin, and the younger man shivered, looking at Haytham - his eyes drawn to the other's full lips as he struggled to suppress the desire to press a kiss to the other's lips, suppressing the desire and shaking himself mentally."Yes, they're pauldrons... And thanks for the help. You look really good too." Connor responded, smiling shyly up at Haytham as he did so. The two of them made their way to Haytham's car. As the party was ending at midnight - and there was a good chance that they'd be staying for awhile - at least a couple of hours - they had decided to leave a bowl of candy out on a folding table, encouraging anyone who stopped by to take a couple of pieces, for any trick or treaters who visited their home.

~

Getting to the party took a relatively short amount of time, and Haytham was able to find a parking spot relatively quickly. The two of them made their way to the police station together, not talking but walking side by side. It was difficult for Connor not to try to snag one of his father's hands - perhaps entwine their fingers together lightly as a subtle display of affection, but the young man was able to shake himself from doing so.

Someone in an incredibly realistic and rather terrifying ghoul costume came towards the two of them, and Connor nearly jumped as he recognized the other's voice to be Chief Birch, as the young man hadn't thought that the other would participate in such _frivolous_ things. "Good evening, Haytham. I see that you did go as a Vampire - there was a bet going around as to what you would go as this year - but I guess in a way they were right. You went as one kind of dead man - others thought that you might have gone as a _hanged_ _man_ with the _noose_ around his _neck_ still. Still, I suppose a bloodsucker who recoils at the thought of light works just as well."

"... Thank you, Chief Birch. I must say that your costume is very... Vivid." Haytham responded, voice light but sounding to Connor as if he was forcing himself to sound light and cheerful.

The young man couldn't help but edge a little closer to his father - who had taken a small half step forwards and in front of Connor as Birch began to speak as the police chief turned to look at Connor, and the other hummed "And you, young gorgeous Adonis, are a striking sight to behold. It's a bit odd to see a Vampire and... A Greek soldier? Walking in together, but I suppose this is all pretend."

"Actually, I'm supposed to be Mars, roman god of war, though I suppose it does look rather similar." Connor mumbled self consciously, looking down at himself before glancing back at Birch, wishing he could come up with something better to say.

"Given how well you did in that paintball match that I lead against you, I'm not surprised. Still, I would have thought that you might have wished to go into a field where your accuracy and the strength that you obviously possess would be better put to use." Birch responded lightly before drifting off to go harass someone else.

Connor turned to his father - who was staring rather intently at where Birch had vanished into the party at, muttering under his breath "Can we go now? Or is he just method acting by being... Like  _ that _ to everyone?"

"He does get a little odd during Halloween - but he doesn't mean much by it... And we did just arrive here, despite his words, if we leave now, he may think that we are fleeing because of him. Let's have fun despite him lurking about and trying to make  _ everyone _ here uncomfortable. It's what he enjoys most about attending these sorts of things." Haytham responded, shaking his head a little. Connor sighed, but nodded and the two of them entered the main room where the party was being held.

~

Most of a month passed, and the young man found himself very much looking forwards to spending Thanksgiving with his father. Connor hadn't celebrated the day as what most in America seemed to think of it as, but his aunt's family (as he was too young, when his mother died, to remember any of the thanksgivings that the two of them might have had together) had taken it as a day to celebrate with family. To cook and enjoy delicious food, with the warmth and love of one's family and loved ones around you. Unfortunately, the young man knew that he wouldn't be able to make it out to his aunt's place this year - he only had the day before and thanksgiving day off... Which meant that he would work the Friday after before having the weekend off. But Connor would be assisting Dr. Cormac in surgery all day, so the young vet was very much looking forwards to that day.

Instead of going - and having already called his aunt and grandma, apologizing and explaining why he couldn't come - Connor had sent several dishes (carefully packed, and sent overnight, despite how expensive that was) to them instead - which the young vet had been assured had safely arrived and would be very much enjoyed. He'd talked with Kanen, as Haytham had agreed that if his friend wanted to come over for Thanksgiving, he could, but Kanen was able to get a week off, and could afford to fly back home to spend it with his family. Haytham and he had talked briefly about what they wanted to do for thanksgiving - his father had a full five day weekend, only having to come in to work on Monday and Tuesday - Â in part because Haytham hadn't been able to take the fourth of July off, as previously agreed on, which was nice. They had decided on what they wanted to cook and had just finished getting everything that they needed to make what they were planning on eating.

"Do you want to make the pie and the rolls tonight, so that we just have the turkey and stuffing to do tomorrow?" Connor asked after a moment, as they hauled the last of the groceries inside. Thanksgiving was tomorrow, and both of them had agreed not to buy  _ anything _ or go to any stores tomorrow, as it was awful that some people had to work retail on a day like tomorrow.

Haytham hummed, nodding a little "The turkey breast shouldn't take more than a couple of hours, but that does sound reasonable - given that the stuffing  _ also _ has to cook in the oven... And if we want to sneak a slice of pecan pie or a roll tonight... Well, who can blame us?"

Connor grinned at that and nodded. The two of them put almost everything away but what they needed and cooked together. His father's kitchen was small - but as the radio played quietly in the background, and the sweet smell of the pie wafted through the room, Connor couldn't help but think about how  _ cozy _ all of this was. He finished dicing up the onions as his father lightly tested to see if the rolls had finished proving. "That's very true... Do you want the onions cut up more, or is this alright?"

Haytham hummed a little, leaning into Connor as he glanced at the cutting board before shaking his head "No, they are fine - good catch on spotting the last of the sweet onions. The winter onions this year have been very pungent."

The young man fought a blush and nodded a little, leaning a bit into Haytham and asked "Is the dough ready?"

"I believe so - and the pie should be done just in time for the rolls to have finished their second prove on the baking pan." Haytham murmured quietly, still leaning against Connor a little, bright blue grey eyes warm and full of an emotion that the younger man couldn't entirely name.

"Alright... I'll get the cookie sheet." Connor remarked quietly, reluctantly shifting away from Haytham and fetching the already tin foil-covered cookie sheets. Rolling the rolls out was rather hypnotic.

~

Neither of the two of them got up early on Thanksgiving day, and the two of them shuffled into the living room, snagging a roll and nibbling on it as they sat down on the couch, leaning into one another and yawning a little. It was a little chilly in the living room, which was why the two of them were sharing blankets and leaning into one another. They had another hour before they had to start cooking the turkey - which they had previously seasoned last night. Everything for the stuffing was prepared as well, which was why neither of them had much of a mind to get up and do anything just yet.

Connor yawned softly and snuggled into his father's side, tempted to just fall asleep in his father's arms. The two of them were pressed against one another, and Haytham had set the TV to a channel that was playing music. After a couple of hours, the two of them had the turkey cooking and settled back on the couch. Before they could get comfortable, however Haytham's laptop started singing and the two of them sighed and grumbled a little as both of them had to get up, so that Haytham could make his way over to the dining room table, to see what was going on with his laptop.

His father blinked and chuckled a little as he hit accept from someone who was trying to video chat with him from England. The screen popped up and an older blonde man, a dark haired and similarly aged woman and blond woman who looked a few years older than his father appeared on screen. "Good evening." Haytham murmured, voice warm and amused.

"Good... Early afternoon? Son." The blonde man responded, a warm smile appearing on his face. All four of them focused on Connor - who was distinctly surprised and wishing that he had a little bit of forewarning. "Are you my grandson Ra.. Reh... Connor? You look  _ adorable _ and so much like your father! It's wonderful to finally see you!" The blonde man cheerfully responded, causing Connor to fluster a little, and shy away a little from the camera.

Haytham sighed, shaking his head a little. His father was smiling a little as he introduced the four of them to Connor "If I had known for certain that they were going to call today, I would have told you. Connor this is my mother Tessa, my father Edward and my older sister, Jenny. All of you... This is my son, Connor or Ratonhnhake:ton, though you generally prefer Connor, don't you?"

"Most of the time, yes. It's easier for most people to say. Erm... Connor, I mean." The young man responded, still feeling flustered and wondering if he should leave, so that Haytham had time to talk to his family alone if he so wished. He was also pleasantly surprised to find out that Haytham could say his middle name. Before he could decide how to extricate himself, he felt Haytham wrap an arm around his waist, and when Connor glanced at the other curiously, Haytham murmured softly "You may stay as long as you like. They want to talk to you as much as they want to talk to me."

"O-oh... O-Ok!" Connor responded back just as quietly. He looked back at his paternal grandparents and aunt, very curious. The five of them talked for over an hour, and Connor was delighted to have gotten to know his father's family a bit better.


	10. Chapter 10

It was a week before Haytham's Birthday, and Connor had found that he'd gotten home before his father - not that was an  _ unusual _ occurrence in the least. The young man made sure to start things for dinner, and while he waited for the water to get hot for the noodles, Connor tracked down a pad of paper and a pencil. When you lived with someone - provided that you were paying attention, you learned a lot about them. Connor was well aware of the fact that his father's Birthday was coming up - and it was going to land on a Thursday this year.

Still, the young man was determined to do something special for his father's birthday, and while Connor had yet to figure out what sort of gift Haytham might want - and he had tried to hint that he'd like to get his father something for his birthday, either Haytham hadn't gotten the hint, or wasn't sure how to tell him that he didn't really want anything for his birthday (at least from Connor). That was why, if Haytham didn't seem to want him to  _ buy _ anything from the other (which kinda made sense, as the two of them made about the same amount of money and neither of them were particularly materialistic) Connor had decided that he was going to make the other's favorite dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner, from what he'd observed that Haytham liked and disliked.

He'd also called his grandfather yesterday as he'd been going home from work - and though it had been a rather inconvenient hour for Edward, the other had cheerfully told him that Haytham's most favorite cake was a rum cake. The young man was writing down the ingredients that he needed for each of his father's most favorite dishes - having made each of them. Connor hadn't made a rum cake before, but Edward had also cheerfully passed along the recipe, and the young man wrote a reminder to himself to get enough to make at least two batches of rum cake - so that if he messed up the first time, he would have enough stuff on hand to make a second batch.

Connor left the note pad to put the noodles in the pot, as well as check to see how the sauce was coming together (it was a sauce that had to take it's time to reduce down, and though it did need occasional stirring, fussing with it too much would only prolong the cooking process). He hummed a little as he tasted the sauce, sprinkling in a little more salt, as well as using the pepper grinder to put in a touch more of that as well.

"What are you working on?" His father asked from the door, reaching for the pad of paper and looking at it curiously, humming a little as he stared at it curiously, reading the list of ingredients. "Hmm... It seems as if you're compiling a list for some of my most favorite foods... I wonder why?" Haytham glanced over at him, holding the pad of paper.

Connor flustered a little - having hoped that he would keep this a secret, until Haytham's birthday - when he planned on waking up extra early in order to make breakfast and the other's lunch for the day. "I... I wasn't sure what to get you for your birthday - which I know is coming up on the fourth... So I thought I'd make you for favorite foods and cake. If there's something that you want, I'd be happy to get it for you! Though I'd also make the food.. Err... Unless I'm wrong about those dishes being your most favorite?"

Haytham chuckled a little, moving closer to Connor as he set down the pad of paper. "You have indeed figured out what my most favorite foods are. I hadn't... You are more observant than I had thought, and the idea is very sweet, Connor... My dearest wish is to be able to spend more time with you on my birthday... But unfortunately, both of us have work... Although my favorite lunch made by you will be a  _ wonderful _ pick-me-up.. And from the way you're reacting, I suppose this was to be a surprise?"

Connor nodded, fidgeting a little "Yeah... I know that you don't tend to like surprises... But you're not supposed to know what you're gifts are before you get them."

The small smile on his father's face broadened a little, and Haytham moved in close. He murmured warmly "Thank you... Now, even though we won't be able to do much on my birthday, is there something that you'd like to do the weekend after my birthday? I was thinking that we might play laser tag - there's a place close by that has an excellent arena, although we'd have to reserve our spots fairly soon, as they are always completely booked on the weekends. Unless you don't enjoy laser tag?"

"No, I love laser tag! I enjoy it as much as I like paintball - a bit better actually, as in laser tag, you don't sometimes end up with bruises, from where you get hit." the vet responded enthusiastically, grinning up at Haytham. "Is there a way to be sure that we're on the same team? Or are you randomly assigned when you get to the place?" He'd rather not have to go against Haytham while celebrating the other's birthday.

Haytham hummed a little, moving a bit closer and looking down at Connor's lips. He leaned in dangerously close, and for a moment, Connor was utterly  _ certain _ that Haytham was going to kiss him. Instead, his father brought one of his hands up and lightly brushed away a bit of sauce from one of Connor's cheeks, humming a little at the taste as he stepped back, responding with "Considering it's just the two of us, I am fairly sure that they will let us stay on the same team." Haytham also pulled him into a tight hug, murmuring quietly into one of Connor's ears "Thank you, Connor. You have been so wonderful, and I am... Words fail me, in expressing how much happier I am, to have you in my life."

Connor hugged his father back tightly, feeling his cheeks burn with a bright blush, speechless for several moments. He managed out after a little while "I... I'm so glad that you're in my life as well, rake:ni. I'm happier for having gotten to know you as well, and I am looking forwards to continuing to get to know you in the New Year."

His father smiled warmly at that, and the two of them slowly let go of one another, Connor tending to the sauce as Haytham grabbed the now fully cooked noodles. After the noodles were drained, his father said "My father would like the both of us to come visit him and mother and Jenny for Christmas in England, if we can. I told them that I'd ask you first - I know that you've missed your aunt and grandmother - would you rather visit them this year?"

Connor smiled ruefully and shook his head "I'd love to be able to visit my aunt and grandma - but everyone's headed up to Alaska to visit some extended family and I...  _ Really _ don't want to go to Alaska. It's too cold and snowy. Though if you want to visit your dad and everyone in England - I'd be happy to tag along, if you'll let me! I'll do my best to see what time off I can get - Dr. Cormac closes everything but the emergency hospital portion of the hospital and clinic for the last two weeks of December, and I know that a few people are definitely going to stay then. I'll ask Dr. Cormac tomorrow."

His father smiled warmly at that and he nodded "It's settled then - if you can get the time off, we'll go to England for the holiday, and I'll be sure to tell them whether or not we can go after you speak with your boss... And before you say anything else, no I will not leave you here by yourself and go visit them... I wouldn't do that to you."

"I... T-thanks dad." Connor responded, a soft blush appearing on his face - he  _ had _ been about to tell Haytham that the other could do just that if he wanted toâ€¦ But it was really wonderful to know that his father wasnâ€™t going to leave for the holidays, if Connor couldnâ€™t. The two of them chatted about how their respective work days had gone, as they had dinner, before settling in front of the TV to watch more of The Spade and The Cross.

~

Connor hummed softly to himself as he double checked the list of ingredients that he needed, against the stuff he had in his cart. The young man had made sure to check things off as he went, but it never hurt to be doubly sure that you had everything that you needed, before you checked out, particularly as the young man didn't want to walk all or most of the way home, only to realize that he'd forgotten a crucial ingredient and needed to double back in order to grab something. His father's birthday was in two days, and Connor had yet to get home from work. Yesterday he had stopped on his way home to grab the bottle of rum that he needed for his father's birthday cake, and today he'd stopped by a grocery store that was close to home to get everything else, rather than wandering into a liquor store with arms full of groceries - which would have garnered him more than a couple of confused or concerned looks from those around him, as people didn't usually tend to do such things.

He grabbed the last thing that he needed - a carton of eggs, which he was mostly done checking, to make sure that all of the eggs were intact and still good, when his cell phone rang. Connor, assuming that it was his father calling - perhaps to ask what he wanted to eat? His father had mentioned that he wanted to pick something up for the two of them to eat for dinner tonight in an earlier text message, Connor carefully set down the eggs, before grabbing his phone and opening it, forgetting to glance at the name on the screen before opening it, saying cheerfully "Good evening!"

An unfamiliar person asked "Am I speaking to Connor Kenway?" The other's tone of voice sounded a little strange...

"Yes, I am. Who may I ask is calling?" The young man responded, a small frown appearing on his face as he pushed his cart with one hand, so that he was out of the way, for anyone who was interested in trying to get some eggs or milk. Technically, his last name was Hill, and the only people who were aware of the fact that his father's name  _ was _ Kenway (and that Connor could use the name, if he so wished) were either directly related to him, or a police officer - at least as far as Connor was aware of.

"I am Doctor Crawford Starrick, head of the Sacred Heart Hospital." The professional sounding voice on the other end of the line responded. A feeling of dread started to fill Connor, weighing his heart down as it started to steadily sink to his shoes. Sacred Heart was one of the best hospitals in the city, and was known internationally as one of the best places to be treated at. The young vet  _ knew _ that something  _ awful _ had to have happened to someone he was close to... But who? "Are you the next of kin for Captain Haytham Kenway?"

"I... Y-yes, he's my father." Connor managed to stammer out, the grip on his phone painfully tight as he tried to keep his breathing steady and normal. There was no reason to panic - because panicking wouldn't do him a single bit of good. He had to  _ focus _ . "W-why are you asking?"

"I am calling to inform you that your father was shot through the heart twenty minutes ago, and was rushed to the emergency room. He is currently in surgery and unconscious - though he was somewhat stabilized on the scene. Your father will be needing at least one transfusion, as he lost rather a lot of blood."

"I.. He... Rake:ni... F-father I mean... he... W-what?" The young man spluttered, dark eyes widening in shock as he tried to process what the doctor had just told him. The world was spinning around and around, and Connor was finding it difficult to breathe. Everything was too bright and too narrow at the same time. The young man left the cart where it was, sprinting through the store, to find somewhere that was quieter, that wasn't quite so overbearingly  _ bright _ so that he could think.

The callous voice on the other end of the line  _ sighed _ at him, as if it was irritating that Connor was struggling and  _ failing _ not to have a panic attack at the sudden and terrible news that had been given to him. He  _ couldn't _ lose his father - not like this! Everything had been going so well, and Dr. Cormac had told him today that he was one of the people who didn't have to work a shift at the emergency part of the animal clinic, if he didn't want to. They would have been able to go visit his father's family before repeating and elaborating further "Your father was shot through the heart twenty minutes ago, outside of a fast food restaurant on his way home, from what the paramedics were able to get from him, before he fell unconscious. Your father is in surgery, and will need at least one transfusion, from all of the blood that he'd lost, after getting shot. Would you like to visit him, once he's out of surgery?"

"Yes of course! W-which room is he going to be in, o-once he's out of surgery?" Connor stuttered out, focusing on the task at hand - which was to get the information on how his father was doing. It helped him suppress some of the panic that was threatening to overwhelm him - although he knew it wasn't the healthiest method.

"That depends on how well he pulls through the surgery. He will either be staying in the emergency wing, or in the cardiac ward. He went into surgery five minutes ago. I have already contacted his work place, and I suspect that one of the detectives or other police officers under his command will be taking you to him, if you so wish." Starrick responded, sounding so calm and unaffected that it made Connor's blood boil.

Not that it was Starrick's fault - you had to maintain professional distance from your patients in order to be able to think clearly. And Connor knew that a part of him wanted to lash out at anyone or anything around him, to try to deal with the roiling mess of emotions that were running through him - but that would be incredibly counterproductive. "Father and I have the same blood type, O positive. A-and I... I would like to be picked up, yes. But I'm not at home - I'm at a grocery store close to home."

"Very well." The head doctor responded, still sounding calm and unaffected - but then again, why would he be? It wasn't as if Starrick had any personal stake in any of his patients lives - the fact that Haytham was a well loved and respected police captain likely didn't register much to the physician... Other than the fact that he had to be the one to contact those that he was supposed to about this particular patient. "I have been told that someone will be by at the residence that you share with your father within the hour."

Connor nodded shakily - not that the doctor would be able to know that, so he forced himself to verbally respond with "Understood. I... I'm going to head home now... I-Is there anything else that you need from me?"

"No, have a good evening, Mr. Kenway." Dr. Starrick responded, just before ending the phone call.

~

Connor left the grocery store without getting anything, numb disbelief running through him as he tried to process the information that he'd been given about what had happened to his father. Guilt stabbed at him as he realized that Haytham wouldn't have been at that place, had the two of them not decided for Haytham to get them something to eat for dinner, rather than Connor making dinner as they usually did on the days that both of them worked. If Haytham hadn't been there, then it was very probable that his father wouldn't have gotten injured so badly. He would have been home with  _ plenty _ of time to at least be most of the way done with dinner, before his father had arrived, and it wasn't as if Haytham was so  _ impatient _ to eat once he got home that the other would have been irritated that dinner wasn't hot and waiting for him to eat it on the table...

He almost got lost on his way home a couple of times, as he was so  _ incredibly _ distracted by his thoughts - which were cycling between worry for how his father was doing, tentative hope that because his father had been found and was being tended to quickly, that Haytham would recover, and guilt for going with the idea to eat fast food -and thus his father had been in the place where he'd gotten shot by... By someone - perhaps Haytham had been trying to stop someone from robbing the fast food place and had gotten hit? The young man couldn't guess, and Connor knew that he was getting perilously close to tears. but refused to start crying until after he got home, as the young man didn't want to possibly deal with a curious and concerned stranger trying to talk to him while he was this upset.

Connor stared at the picketed fence that marked the edges of his father's house... A place that the young man had come to call home, but the vet wondered if he should be able to call it that... After all, it was possible that he was partially responsible for the other getting shot, by wanting some junk food and his father being in the wrong place at the wrong time? But it wasn't as if he'd been holding the gun, or had whispered encouraging words to whatever  _ lunatic _ had decided that shooting a police captain was a  _ good _ or  _ reasonable _ or even a  _ necessary  _ idea in the first place... So he  _ shouldn't _ feel guilty as he didn't have anything to do with it... But the fact that Haytham had gotten so badly injured and there wasn't a damn thing that Connor could do, but wait and worry was something that distressed the young man to no end.

Eventually, the young man opened the gate - carefully closing it behind him as he staggered through the cement pathway, through the garden that Haytham kept - and Connor had spent many hours, happily helping the other tend to, as they talked about everything and nothing, side by side in warm, sunny days that now seemed to have happened lifetimes ago, though they'd really been only a couple of months ago at most. He stared at the front door, before shaking his head a little and sitting down on the front step. The thought of going into the house full of memories of his father - where Haytham would  _ return _ to once the other recovered from his injuries was... It required a strength of will from Connor that the young vet wasn't capable of summoning.

The young man absently noted that he was  _ still _ in his work clothes, but in order to change into something else, he would have to go into the house... And trying to go in and change - with the house so utterly silent ... Or perhaps he'd switch on the radio, and one of the stations that his father enjoyed listening to would talk and it would almost fool him into thinking that Haytham had just come home, raising his hopes only to send them crashing to the floor when whoever it was that he was  _ supposed _ to be picked up by to go see his injured (not dying, Haytham was tough and strong. Connor wanted to believe that his father would take this injury in stride and recover, hale and healthy as ever) father in the hospital... It... Connor was quite sure that he would break down crying.

His shoulders were shaking a little and the world was blurry. The vet couldn't help but curl up into the smallest ball his large frame could manage, his chin resting on his knees as his arms wrapped around them, to keep himself compact. He hiccupped and touched his face, realizing that he was  _ already _ crying, which was why the world was so blurry.

After a time, a police car came driving by, stopping in front of the house. Connor sniffled a little, rubbing the tears from his eyes as he stood up and tried to pull himself together a little - as he was unsure as to how  _ thrilled _ his father would be to hear that some of his people had seen his son as a snotty, teary  _ mess _ at the news the other had been shot and was possibly in life-threatening danger. Connor walked over as the detectives got out of the car, looking worried and upset.

It took the young man a moment which was a testament to how upset he was - as they'd been coming over regularly, to have those secret, softly-spoken discussions that always ended whenever Connor came home, but the young man could almost  _ feel _ the weight and the heaviness of the words that hung in the air between them. "Detective Johnson... Detective Hickey..." He greeted, staring at them and occasionally rubbing his eyes with one of his hands - they were stinging fiercely, but the young man was stubbornly determined  _ not _ to cry in front of relative strangers... Even if his father trusted them with the mysterious project that had gotten his mother killed.

A horrifying thought flashed through Connor's mind and he silently wondered, as the two of them gestured for Connor to get into the car - although their mouths were moving, but Connor couldn't really hear them speak. Hickey - who was closer - lightly touched him on one shoulder, guiding him into the car. What if his father had been shot, due to the project that he'd been working on. It'd already claimed his mother's life - what terrible secret -or  _ awful _ crime had they found and were continuing to pursue for so long that someone was so desperate to hide that they would kill and kill again to hide?

"-and you'll be able to see him as soon as we get to his room." Johnson finished, as Connor started to tune into the other's words.

"I... I'm sorry I didn't catch everything that you said. I... I didn't mean to ignore either of you it's just... I... I'm not processing the news well." Connor murmured, feeling very strange. He was almost calm - but not because his emotions had stilled. No - he could feel his emotions seething, but he had a curious sort of clarity. Whatever the project that his father was working on... Haytham might have gotten too close to the truth, so some  _ asshole _ had decided to try to kill him... And with any luck, they would fail.

"It's alright, Connor. I could tell that you were out of it when we saw you. I was telling you that they should have him out of surgery soon, and that though the bullet went clean through the captain's shoulder blade, his heart and lungs are intact - despite what they'd feared. He should be out of surgery by the time we arrive, and he's going to be staying overnight in the emergency ward. Depending on how well he does he might be moved elsewhere, or kept there for a bit longer." Johnson restated, voice shaking a little, but easily understood. "From what they can tell, the shooter was  _ aiming _ for his heart, but the cap was able to dodge enough to avoid a fatal wound."

"Oh." Connor responded quietly "I... Dr. Starrick had told me that he'd been shot through the heart. I... I'm glad that's not the case." A silence, deep and slightly uncomfortable filled the squad car as Johnson drove them all the way to Sacred Heart hospital.


	11. Chapter 11

Connor arrived at the hotel a little over an hour and a half after detectives Hickey and Johnson had taken him from the home that he shared with his father. Sacred Heart was on the opposite side of town, and traffic was pretty bad - even though the detectives used side streets as much as they could. Luckily, they did arrive before visiting hours closed, and after he was checked for any weapons, and that his ID was checked against the list people who were allowed to see the injured and currently sleeping police captain and sent on up - the pair of detectives following behind him as they made their way to Haytham's hospital room.

Sacred Heart had several buildings, but luckily they were in the correct building. The police officers on guard duty stepped away from the door as Connor approached, allowing him to open it and enter. His father was hooked up to a heart monitor, and the other had an IV drip hooked into one of his arms. The starched white blankets and the light beige walls only served to further cause the young man to frown and worry - as his father looked so ghostly  _ pale _ it was frightening. The other was also wearing a hospital gown, and the young man could see the other's bandages through the thin paper clothing. The young man grabbed one of the visitor's chairs in the room and pushed it closer, noting that his father was in a single room - then again Connor knew that it would make sense, given that Haytham was a police captain. He found that he didn't want to sit down, despite wanting to also stay with his father for as long as he was allowed to do so...

So Connor couldn't help but pace around the room, occasionally standing still and staring at his father, a deeply worried expression appearing on his face. The young vet washed his hands thoroughly, as he knew that once he sat down, he might not be able to resist the temptation to hold the other's hand while Haytham slept off the last of the anesthesia that the surgeon had used to keep the other from suffering too much as they worked on his father. It took him about an hour of pacing interspersed with standing and staring to finally settle his worry and nerves down enough to actually sit in the chair that he'd pushed next to Haytham's bed. Connor lightly took one of his father's hands, with both of his own, glad that he had the forethought to sit next to the other in such a way that he could hold one of the other's hands, without worrying that he was interfering with the other's IV drip.

He placed the other's hand in his lap, unable to resist the temptation to gently trace the outline of the other's hands with his fingertips, mapping out where the other's hand was calloused, noting for the first time that Haytham had a scar in the middle of his right palm, a little ridge that looked as if he'd had it for quite some time - and that the other might have needed a handful of stitches. The young man silently wondered how his father had gotten that scar, and shifted closer still to Haytham as he continued his observations. The other's lips were full and a light pink color. They also looked very  _ kissable _ although Connor would never kiss the other without Haytham's permissionâ€¦ And his heart  _ lurched _ at the fact that though his father's condition was stable - for the moment at least - he might not ever be able to admit his true feelings for the other, and the young man desperately wished that he'd taken that particular leap.

The worst thing that could have happened is that his father would have rejected him for his feelings - and Connor would have completely understood why Haytham was very likely to reject him... They  _ were _ father and son after all, and even if the two of them weren't related, the age difference between the two of them would have caused more than a few raised eyebrows... Even if his father hadn't wanted him directly in his life - at least until Connor straightened himself out and dealt with his crush on the other... At least he would have been able to admit to the fact that he  _ deeply _ cared for his father. He had told Haytham that he'd cared for the older man, but it didn't feel as if it was enough.

Hours slowly passed, as Connor observed his father, watching the other's heart beat steadily - if a bit slowly - on the monitor, watching the other's chest rise and fall regularly, when someone knocked lightly on the door, startling the young man to his feet. One of the two police officers who were guarding the door opened it, and someone in scrubs and a doctor's coat stepped in, holding a clipboard. They glanced at Haytham before focusing on Connor "Are you... Hmmm... Doctor Connor Hill, Captain Kenway's son?"

"I am... Who are you?" The young vet asked, watching the other carefully. While normally he would have easily accepted the other as being one of his father's attending physicians, Connor was suddenly very much reminded of what Haytham had warned him about, months ago. To be careful and suspicious, as the other was close to completing a big and possibly  _ dangerous _ project, and Connor couldn't help but wonder whether or not his father had been found by some of the  _ trouble _ that he'd been investigating for the past twenty years or so.

"I am Doctor Green - I was the surgeon who operated on your father. The bullet went clean through his shoulder, however the bullet was coated in a chemical agent that prevented his blood from clotting, which was one of the reasons why he lost as much blood as he did. The lab finished identifying what was used, and the IV drip has a suspension inside of it that will counteract the agent that the bullet was dipped with." The surgeon responded, only occasionally looking over at Connor as he spoke. The two of them talked about how to help Haytham care for the wound, once the other came home, and likely outcomes of the other's treatment. The surgeon concluded with "It is unlikely that your father will suffer any permanent injuries - apart from the scar, though there is a chance that he will have nerve damage. If he is careful, he should make a full recovery. Now, given the circumstances and the fact that your father is a police captain - do you have any idea as to who or why someone would want to kill him?"

Connor blinked a couple of times, before shaking his head a little. He had his suspicions, but it wasn't as if the young man could necessarily  _ prove _ anything. Besides, Haytham had told him to be very careful with what little information the other had entrusted him with in regards to The Project, so that young man simply shook his head "I haven't the slightest clue as to why anyone would want to kill him other than  _ because _ he is a police captain and there are some who would rather see those who are competent in the field of law enforcement dead, so that they can continue their criminal acts and run their empires without having to deal with those who are dauntless and determined in their pursuit of justice."

Dr. Green nodded, humming a little at his words "Very well then - if you do think of something, inform the policemen guarding your father - and there are private rooms, if what it is that you wish to speak about is  _ sensitive _ ."

Connor nodded absently at the other's words -the police officers who had their suspicions as to why someone might want to kill him, likely already knew... Especially from how concerned and worried Johnson and Hickey were, while they were upset by what had happened, neither of them had seemed all that  _ surprised _ that such an awful thing had happened. Connor asked a couple of clarifying questions about wound care before letting the surgeon leave.

~

Connor hadn't realized that he'd fallen asleep until he was woken up because of someone wetly coughing close to where he'd been asleep. The vet rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he remembered where and why where he was where he was. The young man straightened up, rolling his shoulders a little as he yawned softly. Connor also massaged the back of his neck as he looked closely at his father's face, trying to figure out whether or not Haytham was awake, or was coughing in his sleep. The other seemed to be stirring somewhat, and the young man couldn't help but ask "Rake:ni, are you awake?" though he spoke softly, as he knew that it would probably be best for the other if he continued to sleep, given the fact that he'd been shot very recently.

Haytham's voice sounded rough, and the other looked confused (and more than a little disoriented as well) as he asked "Where are we Connor? How did we get here?" His father tried to get up, hissing in pain as he tried to put weight on his injured shoulder.

Connor lightly placed a restraining hand on his father's chest - though the young man didn't put weight behind it, as he didn't want to cause more pain or distress his father further. He explained in a low, soothing tone of voice "We're at Sacred Heart Hospital. You... You were shot and taken here - one of the doctors operated on your shoulder. As long as no complications arise, you should heal up completely - and try not to move your right arm very much, you've got an IV drip attached to it. You lost quite a bit of blood - though they did give you a transfusion earlier, while you'd been unconscious. There are two police officers stationed outside your door - do you want me to fetch one of them?" Connor made sure to keep his voice quiet, in case Haytham  _ didn't _ want anyone else to know that he was awake yet.

"I... I see." Haytham responded after a couple of moments. His father cleared his throat a little and looked directly at Connor, who was still sitting up and watching him carefully "I... I wasn't sure if I would survive him shooting me. I tried to dodge but he... He did hit me. There was... Something that caused the bullet to hurt worse than I ever have before, and I have been shot a couple of times before. He... He laughed and said that I would die in the alleyway...." Haytham stopped talking, eyes unfocused and faraway. The police captain shifted uncomfortably, clearly very upset and deeply unhappy.

Connor shifted a little closer, gently holding onto both of the other's hands, squeezing them gently as he listened intently to Haytham speak. When it was obvious that Haytham didn't seem up to talking for a little bit, Connor managed out in something close to a calm tone of voice - though his voice was shaking rather badly "I... I'm glad that you were close to where someone could call for help, and that you've survived." He meant the words earnestly, and he could feel tears threatening to fall from his eyes, but the young man was determined  _ not _ to cry. He'd cried quite a lot already today and it was likely his father needed him to keep some semblance of calm while processing what had happened to him before. "I... You never mentioned that you'd gotten shot before..." He was surprised to find that out - and unhappy at the thought of his father being in such dangerous situations in the past... Even though his father was a police officer.

Haytham smiled a little at that, murmuring quietly "I... I had to drag myself from the alleyway that he'd shot me in, after playing dead until he... My assailant left... Though he did leave quickly, as several people had heard the shot... By the time that I'd dragged myself into that parking lot, there were quite a few people there, looking around and trying to figure out what had happened... All I could think about was you, as I... I struggled to stay conscious, and it helped."

"Oh..." Connor responded, feeling himself blush a little at the other's words, struggling not to lean in close and admit to Haytham that he was very much  _ in _ love with the other, and not that he  _ loved _ the other in a platonic way. His father hadn't answered all of his questions - but there was a good chance that the other was still under the influence of the anesthetic that he'd been given, and was understandably absent minded. The young man really wasn't sure how to react to the other's words and wished that there was more that he could do to help the other.

Haytham looked at him directly, staring into his eyes for several long moments, before asking quietly "Connor, would you come closer please?"

The younger man nodded, standing up and leaning over Haytham, leaning so that one of his ears was a little over an inch above the other's mouth (he wasn't going to be distracted by how lovely the other's lips looked, he  _ wasn't _ ) as his father whispered, so quietly that he could barely hear the other "I love you, Connor. And... And not as a father should love his son. It was one of the things that I had regretted, as I staggered out of the alleyway, and something that I'd promised myself if I survived. I love you,  _ romantically _ . I know that I shouldn't, and I would completely understand if you are disgusted or horrified. And no - my words aren't due to the anesthetic that they gave me, I know that I am speaking to you,  _ RatonhnhakÃ©:ton _ ."

Connor's eyes widened in shock and delight at the other's words, his heart pounding in his chest, and he moved so that his lips were almost touching one of Haytham's ears, whispering back softly "I love you too. I-In a romantic way, I mean. I... The fact that you love me back is... I... I can't even begin to t-tell you how happy that makes me." He was nearly on the verge of tears again - but this time, it was for a  _ good _ reason.

He could hear the smile in his father's voice, as Haytham said "I... I did not expect you to reciprocate my feelings, although I am delighted to know that you do. I love you dearly, and I always will."

Connor beamed down at his father, looking at him and shifting a little so that he could see the other's  _ beautiful _ grey-blue eyes and he murmured quietly, but ardently "And I will  _ always _ love you." The younger man sat down, lightly pressing a kiss to the back of both of his father's hands as he did so.

This seemed to focus his father a little, as the other asked, frowning a little "You... You asked a couple of questions earlier, that I did not answer, and for that I do apologize... I... Do you recognize either of the officers who are guarding me? As for how I'd gotten shot previously? The first time was while I was training in the academy - one of my fellow recruits was a phenomenally  _ terrible _ shot and somehow managed to accidentally shoot me with a live gun. He'd been reprimanded harshly for that... The second time was a hunting accident."

Connor answered honestly "I don't recognize either of the two police officers - though they do have patches saying that they're from your precinct. Do you want me to get them? As for... For the other thing, I don't imagine that either was very pleasant at  _ all _ ."

His father chuckled a little at Connor's last comment, and murmured "No, it wasn't, but I've always been a fast healer, and for that I have always been grateful... If you do not recognize the police officers who are guarding me, than I would rather they not be aware of the fact that I am awake just yet..." The other's eyes focused on Connor and after a couple of moments he murmured quietly "I enjoyed the kisses to my hands but... I would be... It would be  _ wonderful _ if you would kiss me on the lips, but only if you wanted to."

The young vet's eyes widened in surprise and delight and Connor nodded, responding with a delighted "As you wish~!" before standing up and lightly pressing a kiss to Haytham's lips, humming softly as his father responded back. Part of him wanted to move closer, but as Haytham was injured and lying down on a bed, that might have quite a few more implications than either of them were likely ready for - and none that the young man meant right at this moment.

They broke apart for air, only when both of them felt their lungs burning, and Connor noticed that his father was blushing a little - and finding the pink tinge to the other's face to be very attractive... Not that he himself wasn't blushing rather darkly at the fact that they'd just  _ kissed _ ! Never in his wildest dreams would Connor have believed that the two of them would share something so wonderful (and in a hospital no less...) but the young man was delighted that they were able to do so... Despite the circumstances that surrounded their first kiss.

His father cleared his throat a little again, and asked quietly "I... I know that this is rather a lot to ask of you - particularly since it is very late and we are far from home but.... I know that you've seen the black and blue USB drive that I occasionally have plugged into my laptop, yes?"

Connor nodded a little - he'd only seen that particular thumb drive while the other had been working on that mysterious  _ project _ of his, and never for more than a few seconds at a time, but he very clearly knew what it looked like. "Yes, I do."

"I... If you could get it, and bring it to either Detectives Johnson or Hickey, or Captain Pitcairn, I would be grateful... As... As soon as you can manage it. Pitcairn usually works nights at the same precinct that I do, and both of them work days - and they are usually at their desks while they work, though as both of them are in homicide, it may be better if you call the precinct and double check to make sure that they are in, rather than working on a case out in the field. It is... Very important that that thumb drive does not fall into the wrong hands or... My possible death at Birch's hands will be for nothing, and he will have  _ won _ . He... He found out that I was investigating him and the..." His father paused for breath, and the other seemed to be hesitating, unsure as to whether or not he really wanted to tell Connor. After several moments, Haytham continued on, a grimly determined expression on his face "The corruption and lies that he's been spewing for  _ decades _ and I... I was so close to getting all of the evidence I needed to take him down... I was careless a couple of days ago, and one of Birch's...  _ Toadies _ must have realized that I had something that would sink the bastard - and all of  _ them _ in the process as well. Birch himself shot me - despite the mask he was wearing, I recognize his face and build. There's a secret compartment in the middle drawer of my desk at home. It's hidden in there. But it's just the blue and black one - any other colors and it's a fake one... meant to confuse anyone who tried to steal it..."

Connor nodded, a serious and determined expression appearing on his face "I will get the USB drive - and I'll be back at the hospital before the evening's over, I'm not going to leave your side unless I absolutely have to."

Haytham smiled softly at that and nodded, raising an eyebrow as Connor moved towards the window and opened it "What... What are you doing?" his father questioned.

"I learned quite a lot when I lived with my aunt... Climbing lots of tall things was one of them - besides we're only on the third floor. I'll be back in three hours, probably less, since there's like  _ no _ traffic right now. I love you!" With that, the young vet climbed out of the window and down the side of the hospital building, keeping to the shadows as he did so.

The young man focused on each task that he was assigned to do with extra care. Not only was he running a little low on sleep, all Connor could really focus on was his father... The sweet, midnight confession of love - the USB drive full of information that his father had nearly been killed for, and wondering just what he'd been found out that someone was willing to kill over? Mostly, the young man worried as to how his father was doing, and if whether or not those who were neutral in this - or those who were actively helping his father would be able to continue to protect his father - or whoever Haytham had evidence against would try to kill him again.

He had gotten most of the way through the day without causing much trouble - and was able to act professionally and helpful while going through the appointments that had been scheduled for him. One of the front office staff knocked on his door - and they looked really worried. "Uhm... Doctor Hill? I know that you don't have any appointments left for the day and we usually don't take walk ins after three in the afternoon but... But there's a man at the front desk and he's got a dog with him and he's really insistent that he wants  _ you _ to take care of the dog and... And do you mind if you did go through with the appointment? C-Chief of p-police Birch is incredibly i-intimidating."

Connor paled a little, but nodded, standing up. "I... I'll see him, and I will inform him that terrorizing others to get what he wants is terribly  _ rude _ to say the least." An ominous feeling came over him - but Johnson had the USB drive and there were cameras in each of the exam rooms - if Birch tried to do anything, he'd be caught on tape. "Give me a couple of minutes, then send him to exam room two, alright?"

They nodded, a grateful expression appearing on their face as they fled back to their desk. Connor could hear them talking to Birch as he headed to the exam room that he'd said he'd be in, squaring his shoulders and closing his eyes for a couple of moments, doing his best to find a sense of balance and equilibrium. This could be an entirely unrelated matter.

Birch appeared in the room just after Connor arrived and double checked that everything was in order. The young man greeted the other with a professional "Good afternoon, sir. Is there a particular reason why you brought your dog in for a visit, or is this a general check up?"

Birch smirked at him, tugging the leash as the poor animal that the man had brought with him shuffled in, limping. There was something wrong with the dog's left front shoulder, and the dog whimpered softly as it sat down. It had dark, shaggy but short grey hair, and a white muzzle and chest, and a long tail that it had just tucked under itself "My welsh sheepdog injured himself running down the stairs yesterday, and I was just able to come in. I've heard that you are an excellent vet, but I had no time to call in earlier, as his injury yesterday was  _ unexpected _ though if he had only  _ behaved _ he wouldn't have gotten injured."

"I see." Connor responded, writing a couple of things down before instructing "Can you get him up onto the exam table? I need to ask you a few questions about him before I can continue the visit. These questions would be handled in the intake phone call, usually."

Birch heaved a theatrical sigh at that, before whistling sharply and commanding "Up, Haytham!" and pointed to the table. The dog let out a low, unhappy whimper before limping up onto the table and sitting down, staring up at Connor with large and doleful golden eyes.

This startled the young vet, who couldn't help but stutter "Y-you named your dog Haytham?"

"Yes, I did. He's a welsh sheepdog - which I know are rather rare nowadays, but I'm rather fond of him. Despite the fact that he can be  _ stubborn _ and finds trouble when my back is turned." The chief of police responded, sighing a little and shaking his head "honestly, I don't know how Haytham gets into half of the trouble that he gets into..."

Connor couldn't help but flinch every time that Birch said the name Haytham - though he was doing his best to suppress his reaction to it. He cleared his throat a little - and murmured "You've given me his name and breed - how old is he, and what are his immunization records?"

Birch was smirking openly at the young vet, and answered all of his questions, voice showing the amusement that was only subtly shown on his face. Connor focused on the poor animal that Birch may or may not have deliberately tormented - there wasn't much that the young vet could do but wrap up the dog's leg and recommend "It is best that while his shoulder is healing that he not move around very much - but he does need to have a gentle walk every day, to encourage the injury to heal correctly."

"I will keep that in mind - Haytham here is getting up in years - he's almost ten and I know that if I take good care of him, he'll live another two to five years... That is, if he doesn't find more _trouble_ to get into. I wouldn't want him to suffer unnecessarily." Birch responded, still smirking at him "Have a-"

Before Birch could finish his statement, two people in fine suits came barreling into the room, each holding a handgun and raising it and pointing it at Birch. "You are Chief of Police Reginald Birch, correct?"

"Yes, I am." Birch responded, stepping a little away from the examination table, slowly raising his hands "May I ask what this is about?" several people were gathering behind the two well dressed people, peering curiously into the room, their eyes wide and staring.

"You are under arrest for several counts of murder, attempted murder and corruption. We are both federal marshals. It will be worse for you if you try to resist. hands laced behind your back and turn around while we cuff you and take your gun and badge. We have enough on you to put you in jail for several  _ centuries _ ." The one who had first entered the room. They looked at Connor and instructed "Please stay still - and try to keep that animal still until this miserable  _ scumbag _ is out of here."

"Of course, sir." Connor responded with a nod, placing a restraining hand on the dog's side, his other hand tightening around the dog's harness, in case the dog tried to make a break for it - or Birch tried to order the dog to do something terrible.

With an audience watching him, Birch did as he was told, though he spoke up "I'm not sure why you think I've committed any crimes. I have been dedicated to the protection and the safety of this city, since I first became a police officer, and my record has shown that I am an  _ exemplary _ police officer. Do you really think that drawn weapons and handcuffs are necessary."

"We have enough evidence to convict you of a list of crimes longer than my arm. You'll get your chance to try to defend yourself in court - but for now, you're being taken into federal custody - and all of those who are part of your corrupt little conspiracy are being arrested as well.  _ All _ of you are going down." The first federal agent growled - he was older, and had a determined and dark glower on his face. He took another look at Connor, the scowl softening a little before asking "You look very familiar young man... Are you Ziio's boy?"

"I-I... Y-yes? H-How... How did you know my mother?" Connor stuttered, eyes widening in surprise.

"She was my junior partner - I don't expect that you remember me. You were so little the last I saw you. Stay safe and tell that stubborn father of yours that the evidence he was able to gather was instrumental in all of this." The federal agent growled.

"Achilles... Sir. We need to get going - there's more of a crowd gathering outside. Someone will be by soon enough for that dog - he's evidence in the case, though he will be treated well, I promise." The younger federal agent responded, nodding towards the dog.

Connor nodded, murmuring "Alright - I'll tell the others and put him in one of the kennels in the back." The federal agents cleared out with the chief of police in tow, and Connor made sure that the dog was comfortable. A sense of relief washed over the young vet and he quickly called his father, telling the other of the good news. Haytham sounded exhausted, but thrilled.


	12. Chapter 12

Six months later found Connor and Haytham enjoying a quiet evening meal together. The two of them hadn't been able to make it to his father's childhood home for Christmas - as Haytham had to stay in the hospital for a little over three weeks. There was also the fact that Haytham - as someone who had been  _ instrumental _ in gathering all of the necessary evidence against Birch and the corrupted police officers in  _ several _ precincts, for the duration of those trials Haytham had to stay in the city in order to answer any questions that the lawyers on both sides might have.

Some of the defense attorneys tried to make it seem as though Haytham was unfairly prosecuting their clients, or was trying to protect some of his own people, by placing the blame on Â truly innocent police officers, as he was accused of having his own favorite officers. Watching his father coolly dissect their arguments and was not only armed with iron clad alibis of where he was when the crimes were being committed, but that he had no part in them, apart from being in the investigation afterwards. several of those who had been involved in the widespread corruption had brokered deals with the prosecution, corroborating the evidence that they had against the others who had been accused of the crimes that they were being justly prosecuted for, and a few of them had gotten lighter sentences - but the fact that they were going to the same jail as those they had ratted out... Likely did not bode well for them.

The two of them did plan on visiting Edward, Tessa and Jenny for two weeks in July, and Connor was very much looking forwards to it. The young man had been outside of the US before - he'd seen a little bit of Canada - and had taken a couple of spring break trips down to a very beautiful small town in Mexico, but that was as far as the young Vet had wandered outside of his home country. The upcoming two weeks would be the longest he'd ever stayed outside of the US and Connor was looking forwards to it.

Haytham had become the new chief of police, and with Captain Pitcairn and detectives Johnson and Hickey (along with several others) they'd just managed to find the last of those who had been part of Birch's corrupt and callous network of people - at least as far as any of them could tell - though it was likely that there were a few more who were hiding - but sooner or later, they would slip up, and they would be found and prosecuted for the crimes that they had committed.

Haytham hummed a little, remarking lightly "You seem to be rather thoroughly lost in thought, Connor. Is there something bothering you? I know that we did speak about  _ exploring _ a few things tonight, but if you're having second thoughts, or are feeling uncomfortable, I encourage you to tell me. We don't have to do anything of that nature."

"No, no it's nothing about  _ that _ . I'm really looking forwards to it, actually. I'm just reflecting on how  _ busy _ the past few months have been. I'm also really glad that your shoulder's healed up completely... And that it healed so quickly." The younger man soothed, a warm smile appearing on his face as he reached out and lightly brushed his fingertips along the back of one of his father's hands, reassuringly. There was a bit of a blush on his face - but he was  _ excited _ for what they had planned "... Are you having any second thoughts or concerns? Because I want this to be as good for you as it is for me."

Haytham hummed a little and nodded in understanding "Quite a bit  _ has _ happened in the past few months, and though I would have rather Birch not have shot me - the fact that he acted so rashly and tried to kill me was something that gave quite a bit of the more... Circumstantial evidence... A great deal more credence. That and his utter  _ breakdown  _ when he got up onto the stand. I don't think it had really sunk in for him until that moment that all of his carefully constructed plans and plots had come crashing down around him, and that he wasn't going to be able to bully or talk his way out of his just punishment... And I am very much looking forwards to what we have planned later tonight, love. Although I will admit that I was a little bit surprised when you approached me, saying that you wanted to see if you enjoyed me tying you up and  _ ravishing _ you while wearing a version of my police uniform as much as you were fantasizing you might."

Connor ducked his head a little, the blush intensifying on his face as he shrugged his shoulders "What can I say? You look gorgeous in anything you wear, but when you're in your uniform and all sternly commanding..." The vet shivered a little, grinning again "I'll readily admit it gets me going. Though you're just as sexy in anything you wear... And when you're completely naked too."

His father chuckled softly at that, grey-blue eyes full of love and amusement "I will keep that in mind - you hinted towards that when we spoke of it a couple of weeks ago, but I hadn't wanted to push you into revealing more about what you were fairly sure aroused you unless you were ready to freely tell me such things... And as I said then, I do find the thought of pinning you down, teasing and taking you to be a  _ wonderful _ thought."

Connor felt himself blush darker as the two of them got up and finished washing up after dinner - they'd washed things as they'd gone along, in order to reduce the amount of time that they had to spend now cleaning up. Once they finished, Connor leaned in for a kiss, pressing his lips to Haytham's, humming as he felt the other pull him into a gentle embrace. The younger man asked after a moment "Ready?"

Haytham hummed softly and nodded, purring into one of Connor's ears "I am. Are you?"

" _ Yes _ !" The vet responded eagerly.

His father nodded again in acknowledgement, still purring seductively into his ears "Then I shall go change." Both of them were grinning, and the young man happily let Haytham go as the other drifted off to  _ their _ bedroom.

~

While Haytham changed in their bedroom, Connor pulled out a set of casual clothes - T-Shirt, hoodie and sneakers, and changed in the bathroom, out of his work clothes. It was a beautiful summer afternoon, and a small smile lingered on Connor's face - They'd picked this Friday to do this scene, as just in case one or both of them felt distressed, they had the whole weekend to reconnect and check up on one another... And if they both enjoyed the scene quite a  _ bit _ they might indulge in another scene on another day (or one of the other scenes that they'd discussed).

Connor also made sure to grab the can of spray paint, shuffling out into the living room and shaking it so that the ball at the bottom of the can clacked loudly. Not that he would actually spray paint the walls unless they'd decided to do that, but it was for the game that they'd decided to play.

He hummed, headphones on and one of his feet tapping to the beat, occasionally glancing over one shoulder, but not expecting to get caught - he  _ had _ just broken into someone's house to spray paint something rude into it, after all... although the owner of this house - a policeman - might come in at any moment and he'd rather not get caught. Connor raised the can, about to press down on the top so that he could start to write something when he abruptly found himself being pushed up against the wall that he'd been about to spray, as a masculine voice growled into one of his ears "Just who are you and why do you think you can just break into my home, hmm?"

"Hey! The front door was unlocked, I so I... I'd check to see if anyone who was in here was okay!" The delinquent Â sputtered in protest, struggling against whoever held him- but to no avail. However was behind him had a grip of  _ steel _ .

"I find that hard to believe, given that you had a can of spray paint in your hands, and it looked as though you were about to start defacing my walls with something rude or offensive." The voice growled, pressing a little closer. One of the other's hands came up and tugged his headphones off. The other's voice spoke again after a moment, sounding almost...  _ Seductive _ . The other's voice was quieter now, and the officer's lips were almost brushing against the shell of one of Connor's ears "I think you need to learn a lesson. I'll give you a choice - either I drag you all the way to the police station, and you can get booked for breaking and entering - as well as attempting to deface private property... Or you will take a private punishment here, and I will let you go, once I am satisfied that you have learned it well."

A dark blush appeared on the delinquent's face as he struggled to come up with an answer. He'd only broken into this house as a stupid bet and dare... The last thing he wanted to do was start to get a record. Connor struggled a little more, wondering if he could make a break for it - but one of the homeowners legs were pressed between his, and it was very clear that he wasn't going to be able to escape anytime soon "What... What would be the  _ private _ lesson that you want to teach me?"

"You have to choose first... And choose quickly, before I decide  _ for _ you. If I do choose for you, if I do pick the private  _ lesson _ it will be much worse for you." The homeowner responded silkily. "Come now - surely you don't want something like this on your record? It's difficult enough for anyone to find work with a clean record right now... With something like this, I suspect that you will have a great deal more difficulty."

Connor growled a little before hanging his head in defeat " _ Fine _ ... You're right. I don't want to get dragged into a police station... What private punishment do you have in mind for me? Clean your house for you or something?" It was slightly ridiculous but the young man would do it.

The other hummed a little, before responding "While that is tempting - for part of your  _ punishment _ as you so eloquently put it, that is not the main form that your lesson will take. I want this to be memorable enough that you will not attempt such a foolish thing ever again - to spare anyone else from such distress. You will listen to everything I say and do so quickly and obediently, or I will take you to the station? Is that understood?"

Connor swallowed dryly before nodding. He really should have known better than to take this stupid bet - but three hundred dollars had been entirely too tempting for the young man. "Yes... I understand..."

"Call me  _ sir _ until I instruct you otherwise... And drop the spray can." the older man purred into the younger man's ear.

The delinquent shivered a little, feeling his fingers release the can, almost of their own accord. It was galling to call anyone sir... But why was his heart suddenly beating so quickly, and the blush (which had been dying down) intensify once again. "Y-Yes s-sir..." He breathed. He meant that to sound defiant and slightly irritated. What came out was a little shy and curious.

The other chuckled - it was a rich, dark sound that sent a shiver of  _ something _ through Connor as the homeowner murmured "Very good - you're learning already. Now, walk with me and do try not to escape. I  _ will _ catch you and the consequences of that are nothing you would enjoy in the least."

Connor nodded, trying to continue to be the irritated and slightly nervous delinquent... But the lines that both of them were saying were a little cheesy and he had to bite the inside of one of his cheeks to keep from grinning - or burst out laughing. "Understood  _ sir _ ." He responded, sounding a bit more sarcastic this time. He walked down the hallway, his hands still held firmly behind his back as slowly as he could manage, the delinquent's frown getting more pronounced the further they moved into the other's home. "Sir... Where... Where are we going?"

The older man hummed a little, before purring "Oh? Can't you guess? Despite the idiocy of breaking into my home, you strike me as an... Intelligent young man, as well as strong and handsome. Surely you have a guess? Perhaps a hint will help." Before Connor could ask what the other meant, Haytham lightly nipped one of his earlobes lightly for a couple of moments.

The delinquent couldn't suppress the whimper that left him, despite biting down on his lower lip, a dark blush appearing on his face "O-Oh... I... I've never... D-done anything like t-that sir..." Would asking to be let go mean that the other would take him to the station? He really didn't want that. Not that he and Haytham hadn't slept together before, this was just play-acting for the game that they had.

The other hummed a little, opening the door to his bedroom and guiding the other inside, before instructing the other to "Stay still, while I lock the door. Do you mean you've never slept with anyone, or broken into their home? Or..." The police officer in the  _ ridiculously _ attractive uniform said as he stepped closer "You mean both?"

"B-Both, s-sir." Connor couldn't take his eyes off of Haytham - the other's short was tight on the other's body - not that the younger man was complaining any. The short-sleeved shirt showed off the other's gorgeous arms, and the hem of his shirt rode up, exposing some of the other's abs. Haytham's pants were tight as well, and it was clear that the officer was at least partially aroused from the prominent bulge in the other's pants. Part of the delinquent wondered if trying to dive for a window would merit more trouble... then again, the police officer had his prints off of the spray can, and was very much aware of what he looked like... Connor knew that he likely wouldn't get far before getting caught - and he could get into a  _ lot _ more trouble, so he stayed put. The delinquent did shamelessly eye the other's tight pants when the other was turned around - the officer had a gorgeous ass.

Haytham nodded a little in acknowledgement as he locked the door, before turning back and grinning at the wanting expression on Connor's face. "I see... Well I will be sure in being extra careful while  _ punishing _ you young man, as I don't want to make things unduly painful or miserable for you. This lesson will be  _ strict _ but all great lessons have both strictness and joy in them for student and teacher alike."

Connor nodded, as a dark blush spread across his face, just barely remembering to call the other  _ sir _ rather than Haytham as he responded in acknowledgement "A-Alright sir..." The delinquent had an idea as to where this was going, but hoped that he was wrong.

From the wicked smirk and intense expression in the policeman's eyes, the delinquent rather doubted it. "Take off your clothes, please. Or at least your pants and underwear." That dashed any hopes of it being anything  _ but _ this.

The delinquent hesitated for a moment, before slowly starting to undress, a little bit nervous - which showed in his slightly trembling hands as he tugged off his hoodie, stumbling backwards a little as he got lost in the sweater. Something hit the back of his knees and he tumbled backwards... and hit something soft and springy, rather than falling all the way to the floor with a disgraceful thud. Connor grinned a little, glad that he'd been able to hit the bed - that's what he'd been aiming for. He tugged off the hoodie and looked up at the officer, starting to get up as he kicked off his shoes - aiming for a far corner of the other's room - but not so far that he couldn't easily find them again "S-sorry. G-got lost in my sweater."

"Stay on the bed." The officer instructed, moving closer as the delinquent finished getting undressed.

The delinquent shivered a little as the other looked at him intensely, wishing that he could blame the shiver on the room's temperature, but couldn't. "N-now what?" He shifted a little uncertainly, feeling rather vulnerable, laying down rather awkwardly on the bed - as his legs dangled off of it.

"Get into the center of the bed and don't move." Haytham instructed. Connor did as he was told, and the other gently touched one of his ankles as he pulled out the specialized handcuffs, glancing at the other and saying "From what you've told me, you're new to this... I will punish you, but if you are genuinely afraid or nervous, speak up, hmm? There is a line between punishment and cruelty, and I do not wish to cross it... But I will know if you are  _ lying _ to me and that  _ will _ have consequences. Understood?"

Connor nodded a little, catching the subtle check in phrasing for what it was and responded with their agreed upon go ahead phrase "I may be  _ green _ at this, but I... I will take the punishment you have in mind for me. I... I will keep what you say in mind, officer. Warnings and all."

The officer nodded, and a crooked smirk that was  _ purely _ Haytham flashed across the other's face, causing Connor to shiver a little in want "Very well then." 

Connor watched and felt as the first pair of cuffs snapped around one his ankles, and then around one of the posts of the bed. "S-Sir? I... I already said that I wouldn't run..." The delinquent stuttered as the other finished handcuffing him down on the bed, his arms and legs spread apart as he stared up at the other, the dark blush on his face once again returning.

"This is a punishment, young man, and until you've proven to me that you've realized the error of your ways, I will keep you pinned to this bed." The officer purred as he leaned over the delinquent's broad frame, one of Haytham's hands coming to lightly trace a finger down one side of the other's face and along the other's jaw line, tilting Connor's face upwards before pressing a biting kiss to the other's lips.

This prompted a muffled sound of surprise - and a little bit of pleasure - to leave Connor as he closed his eyes. The delinquent wouldn't quite respond to the kiss - but he also didn't try to turn his head away from it. "Mnh!"

The police officer above him chuckled lightly, shifting so that he was straddling the younger man, his hands slowly sliding along Connor's shoulders and down the other's chest, before he lightly pinched both of the delinquent's nipples and tweaking them a little.

This prompted a gasp to leave Connor's lips, and a soft "Oh!" to leave him.

The officer pulled away after a moment, smirking down at the other's kiss-reddened lips and the lovely blush on his face. Haytham purred in amusement "You seem to be enjoying yourself quite a bit so far... Well, I'm going to see how you react to  _ this _ ." The older man started to leave a trail of kisses and light nips down both sides of Connor's neck, prompting the young man to moan and gasp softly.

"I... A-Ah!" the delinquent called out, shivering a little as the other started to leave slightly darker marks across his chest, arching his back a little and groaning. The officer's clever hands found places on his body that the delinquent hadn't realized  _ were _ sensitive, and tugged a little on his restraints - not so much trying to escape, as wanting very much to touch the gorgeous man hovering above him, to try to reciprocate some of the  _ incredible _ pleasure that was running through him. "I ahn... Didn't know this was the type of... A-ah! Punishment that you had in mind."

The officer chuckled a little, sitting up and reaching behind him, a crooked smirk appearing on his face as he reached behind him with one hand, stroking the younger man's cock "You're enjoying this quite a bit... However, in order to come... You will have to beg me to take you first... And you  _ will _ enjoy it if you do~!"

Connor groaned in pleasure and squirmed a little beneath the officer in the handcuffs that had him pinned. Part of him wanted to beg for the other to take him now, but he knew that the persona he was playing would be a bit more stubborn. Which is why he said "A-Ah! J-just because I'm enjoying th-this now doesn't mean I'll beg you t-to fuck me. B-besides with the way that you're touching my c-cock I'll come in your hand."

As soon as he said that however, the smug smirk on the officer's face broadened a little bit further, and the hand that had been teasing his cock stopped moving. The older man leaned forwards and Haytham purred into one of his ears "I was simply giving you a taste of what it would be like, if I was to take you - as I would be teasing your cock at the same time... Stroking you in tempo to my thrusts, having you moaning beneath me, like I know that you're barely restraining yourself from doing so now..." Before nibbling lightly on one of Connor's earlobes.

The other's teasing words - coupled with the light nip, caused the delinquent to groan a little beneath the gorgeous police officer who was holding him prisoner. He bit down on his lower lip, determined not to beg - at least not for a little while longer. "And... Ah! And if I don't? B-beg for you to f-fuck me, that is?"

"After two hours, I will let you go, as you will have served your punishment. But I rather doubt that you will be able to hold off from begging me to take you - so you can find your own release - for so long." Haytham purred into Connor's other ear, the hand that had been stroking his cock letting go entirely.

This prompted a whimper to leave the delinquent's lips, and the younger man's hips shifted upwards, desperately searching for a bit of relief. "Hah!... I'll be able to hold off from begging! It's already been what... A-A half hour or s-so?"

The officer chuckled a little and shook his head, pressing a kiss that was almost fond to Connor's lips, and the other murmured "It's been less than fifteen minutes, and you're already achingly hard at my touch."

The delinquent couldn't help but respond a little to the kiss - finding the officer's lips to be quite soft... And it allowed him a couple of fevered moments to figure out what he wanted to say "O-oh... S-still, I... I will be able to hold out! A-Ah!"

The officer chuckled a little at that, and Haytham leaned away a little, catching his eyes. Bright blue-grey eyes watched him closely, searching for any signs of discomfort it seemed. Connor sent the other a small, out of character smile of reassurance, to which his father nodded slightly in acknowledgement before responding "We shall see~!" With that, the officer continued to lightly tease and pleasure the young man with deceptively light touches and biting kisses all over his chest, prompting the young man to moan and shudder with pleasure - but it was never enough to get him to come.

The delinquent held out for as long as he could - he really did! But the other's skillful teasing and infuriatingly sexy voice forced the young man to plead "I... Please... P-Please fuck me! I can't... Ngh... I can't stand it anymore! A-Ah!"

The officer chuckled a little, getting up and leaving the bed, coming back with a bottle of lube and a condom package, murmuring "You did hold out admirably, young man... And before I do take you with my cock, I will prepare you fully."

A frustrated whine left the delinquent's lips at that, as the other slicked up several of his fingers. A gasp left him as the officer slowly slid one of his fingers inside of him, as well as lightly kissed the tip of the younger man's cock "I... Please! Oh... Ngh... You... You promised you'd fuck me..."

"And you mentioned that you've never done this before. I will need to stretch you out before you can take my cock - otherwise it won't be pleasurable for either of us." The officer remarked, the crooked smirk appearing on his face again as he continued to carefully, and thoroughly prepare the delinquent. This wasn't their first time together by any stretch of the imagination, but for the sake of the game, the two of them had decided that the would-be delinquent hadn't done this sort of thing before.

"F-fine... I-I am r-really gr-green in this area! A-Ah! Th-that doesn't mean I... I d-don't want you to take me!" Connor responded, as he had noted that Haytham was moving a bit more slowly than he usually did while preparing him - whether that was because the other was _teasing_ him or giving him time to object, the younger man wasn't sure. Which was why he used the _go_ _ahead_ word to encourage his father to take him.

The officer's eyes sparkled a little, and Haytham held his gaze for a couple of moments, nodding a little, to show that he'd heard the other... Before a wicked grin appeared on his face "You were so stubborn, so  _ sure _ earlier, that you wouldn't beg for me... and here you are, writhing and moaning as I stretch you out,  _ eager _ to be taken."

"S-shut up! I... Ah! I want to... I-I want to c-come, is all." The delinquent lied, trying to glare at the other, but found himself unable to, when the officer pressed against a spot, and the younger man saw  _ stars _ . He keened loudly and the officer smirked at him.

"Found it~! Now, I will prepare you for a little longer, and once I'm satisfied that you are ready, I will take you." Haytham promised, continuing to teasingly move his fingers in and out of the other, twisting a little and from the smirk on the other's face, clearly enjoying watching the way that Connor was reacting to his ministrations.

~

Once the two of them finished, Haytham pressed a loving kiss to his lips, as he quickly undid the handcuffs from Connor's wrists and ankles. He put them away quickly before returning to his beloved's side. Connor reached for Haytham as soon as the other was back on their bed, pressing a loving kiss to his father's lips, feeling tired and sated. "That was... That was  _ incredible _ although... Although I'm really glad that we set everything up before we went for it..." Connor murmured, humming softly as Haytham wrapped his arms around him.

"As am I. Not that I would have done a scene like that with you without us talking about boundaries and safe words beforehand." Haytham responded as the two of them snuggled together, partially covered by a sheet. It was fairly warm, but it was nice to have something covering their legs.

"I can understand why..." The younger man yawned, settling into Haytham a bit more, feeling happy and safe. "Love you... So much."

"And I love you dearly as well, Connor. I always will." Haytham promised quietly, pressing another loving kiss to the younger man's lips, smiling warmly at his beloved. The two of them drifted off to sleep, cuddled close to one another. The past year and a half had been difficult for both of them in a number of ways, but both of them were glad that they'd been able to admit to how much they cared for one another.


End file.
